Former Olympus Corp. Chief Executive Michael Woodford is surrounded by the media upon his arrival at Tokyo's international airport at Narita on Wednesday Nov. 23, 2011. Woodford has returned to Japan for the first time since his firing last month triggered one of the biggest scandals to ever hit corporate Japan. (AP Photo/Kyodo News) JAPAN OUT, MANDATORY CREDIT, NO LICENSING IN CHINA, FRANCE, HONG KONG, JAPAN AND SOUTH KOREA
Former Olympus Corp. Chief Executive Michael Woodford is surrounded by the media upon his arrival at Tokyo's international airport at Narita on Wednesday Nov. 23, 2011. Woodford has returned to Japan for the first time since his firing last month triggered one of the biggest scandals to ever hit corporate Japan. (AP Photo/Kyodo News) JAPAN OUT, MANDATORY CREDIT, NO LICENSING IN CHINA, FRANCE, HONG KONG, JAPAN AND SOUTH KOREA
Former Olympus Corp. Chief Executive Michael Woodford is surrounded by the media ip[on his arrival at Tokyo's international airport at Narita on Wednesday Nov. 23, 2011. Woodford has returned to Japan for the first time since his firing last month triggered one of the biggest scandals to ever hit corporate Japan. (AP Photo/Kyodo News) JAPAN OUT, MANDATORY CREDIT, NO LICENSING IN CHINA, FRANCE, HONG KONG, JAPAN AND SOUTH KOREA
TOKYO (AP) ? The former chief executive of Olympus Corp. met with Tokyo prosecutors Thursday as they probe the Japanese camera and medical equipment maker's coverup of investment losses. A day later he plans to confront the Olympus directors who sacked him for questioning dubious deals.
Japanese NHK TV showed Michael Woodford going into the Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office. He is also scheduled to speak with the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department and the Securities and Exchange Surveillance Commission.
Woodford declined comment on what he was going to tell prosecutors.
Woodford, who returned to Japan on Wednesday after being fired last month, has said he hopes to attend a Friday board meeting of Olympus. Under intense pressure, the embattled company has admitted that a $687 million payment to an obscure Wall Street firm for financial advice and expensive acquisitions were used to cover up investment losses dating to the 1990s.
The board abruptly ousted Woodford last month for questioning the deals and payment. He remains a director at the company and can only be removed by shareholders.
The scandal has cast a harsh light on corporate governance in Japan, which has been repeatedly criticized as falling behind global standards. Recent media reports have also pointed to possible ties between Olympus and organized crime.
After appointing a third-party panel to investigate the company's accounting, Olympus said the exorbitant payments for financial advice and acquisitions were used to cover up heavy investment losses.
That panel has said it has so far found no evidence of any ties with the underworld.
Woodford told the throngs of media gathered at Narita International on Wednesday that he is not afraid to be back in Japan and would press for answers during his stay.
"This isn't going to go away, the truth will come out," he said. "Please now have the dignity, at least the dignity, to accept that the game is up."
Woodford went public with his concerns after his sacking.
Tsuyoshi Kikukawa resigned as president on Oct. 26 and was replaced by Shuichi Takayama. The company blamed the accounting scheme on Kikukawa, former executive vice president Hisashi Mori and ex-auditor Hideo Yamada.
Olympus now risks being delisted from the Tokyo Stock Exchange unless it can rectify past filings with regulators by reporting revised earnings by Dec. 14. The company's shares have plummeted 65 percent since the scandal broke in mid-October.
The issue surged 20 percent on Tuesday after the independent committee commissioned by Olympus issued a statement saying it has found no evidence so far linking any past acquisition funds to organized crime syndicates.
Woodford said a delisting is "the last thing I want" because it would hurt employees and shareholders, according to Kyodo news agency.
He is speaking on a panel and with reporters Thursday evening, and has a press conference Friday at the Foreign Correspondents' Club of Japan in Tokyo.
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