Head of Japan Exchange Group says he's 'ashamed' over Toshiba accounting irregularities

The longtime head of Japan's stock exchange says he is "ashamed" over a recent accounting scandal involving electronics and industrial conglomerate Toshiba Corp.

Atsushi Saito, CEO of Japan Exchange Group, said Friday he was puzzled by Toshiba's apparent laxity over its accounting and that he hoped auditors and accounting firms would be more vigilant.

Toshiba announced last month that it was expanding a probe into alleged underreporting of project costs and losses and setting up an independent committee to investigate further.

Saito said that overall, Japanese companies are improving corporate governance in line with international standards.