Japanese motor giant Nidec Corp.'s President Jun Seki stepped down Friday to take responsibility for poor earnings, the company said, less than three years after it recruited him from Nissan Motor Co.

The former Nissan executive will be succeeded by Hiroshi Kobe, 73, vice chairman of Nidec, who is one of the manufacturer's founding members, it said.

Seki joins the list of other former Nidec executives who were scouted from outside but eventually left the electric motor maker founded by 78-year-old Chairman Shigenobu Nagamori.

Former Sharp Corp. President Mikio Katayama joined Nidec in 2014 as vice chairman before stepping down last year. Hiroyuki Yoshimoto, another former Nissan executive, took up the president position in 2018 but left the company after being demoted in 2020.

Seki's departure underscores the difficulty of ensuring a smooth transition of power at Japanese companies long helmed by powerful founders.

SoftBank Group Corp. on Wednesday announced the resignation of Executive Vice President Rajeev Misra, who was once seen as a successor to founder Masayoshi Son. Misra, who came from an U.S. investment company, continues to lead one of its Vision Fund businesses.

Uniqlo clothing store operator Fast Retailing Co.'s founder Tadashi Yanai appointed Genichi Tamatsuka, who joined from IBM Japan, as its president in 2002 before taking the position back in 2005.

Nidec was founded in 1973 in Kyoto by Nagamori. The company, which originally produced motors for hard disc drives, has been ramping up its efforts in the area of automotive motors in recent years as demand for electric vehicles rises.

==Kyodo

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