Tokyo, Jan 29: Sony's chairman of the board, Norio Ohga, is stepping down due to health concerns following a collapse last year and will become honorary chairman of the company, the Tokyo-based electronics and entertainment giant said on Tuesday. Ohga served as president of Sony Corp. from 1982 through 1995. He collapsed with a brain haemorrhage last year while conducting an orchestra at a music festival in China but has since recovered and is back at work.
Chief Executive Nobuyuki Idei will replace Ohga as chairman of the board and Ohga will become honorary chairman effective from Thursday, the company said.
Ohga decided to leave his post partly because of health concerns and partly because he is confident of the leadership of Idei and Sony President Kunitake Ando, said Junko Sato, a company spokeswoman.
Ohga, who turns 73 tomorrow, has held a largely ceremonial post for the past two years while Idei and Ando have been in charge of Sony's day-to-day operations. Bureau Report