Sanyo President to Quit in Solar Panel Scandal

The president of Sanyo Electric Co., one of Japan’s largest manufacturers of consumer electronics, is reportedly planning to resign to take responsibility for a scandal in which a subsidiary continued to sell defective solar panels even after it discovered the problems. Sanyo President Sadao Kondo informed Chairman Satoshi Iue of his intention to step down after a replacement is named, Dow Jones Newswires reported. The news service cited a company employee who spoke on condition of anonymity. The company plans to convene its board Friday to choose a successor. Kondo’s resignation came less than a week after Sanyo admitted that more than 5,000 solar cell modules produced by one of its subsidiaries from 1996 to 1998 for the Japanese market were incapable of generating sufficient electricity. Sanyo has offered to recall the systems, which were installed in about 700 households.