Japan | Oji Paper Co., Japan's largest paper producer, says it falsified the amount of recycled materials used to produce printer and photocopier paper. Masatomo Nakamura, president of Nippon Paper Group Inc., Oji's next-biggest rival, said last week he will step down after the company disclosed it had been falsifying data on paper products since 1996. Oji's Shinoda says he will stay on as President.
Following the announcements by Nippon Paper and Oji, rivals Daio Paper Corp., Hokuetsu Paper Mills Ltd. and Mitsubishi Paper Mills Ltd. issued releases acknowledging similar falsifications. All the companies are based in Tokyo.
Oji fell 4.7 percent to 467 yen as of the close on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, after dropping as much as 10 percent earlier. Nippon Paper closed down 10 percent to 267,000 yen. Mitsubishi Paper declined 1.4 percent to 206 yen, while Daio Paper was unchanged at 853 yen and Hokuetsu Paper fell 2.2 percent to 493 yen. The Topix Pulp & Paper Index dropped 4.9 percent, the biggest one-day decline since Sept. 25, 2003.
