Last year, when a little-known investment firm called for some new blood on the board of the faded Japanese industrial giant Toshiba, the company’s leadership was less than receptive. But rather than taking its case to its shareholders, Toshiba tried to foil the problem investors by making a secret request to Japan’s powerful trade ministry: “Beat them up.”

The plot backfired, and Toshiba itself has taken the beating. Shareholders — led by Effissimo Capital Management, based in Singapore — forced the company to commission an independent investigation that revealed the underhanded tactics in vivid detail, implicating top executives, high-level bureaucrats and even the prime minister’s office. Toshiba’s chief resigned before the report was complete, and its release last week has shaken Japan’s interconnected worlds of business and government.

Toshiba In Chaos After Bid to Foil Activist Shareholders – The New York Times