Three disgraced executives of Japan's scam-hit Olympus Corp resigned from the board on the eve of Friday's crucial meeting, where former CEO Michael Woodford plans to take on other directors and question them on their role.

''I want to take the opportunity to look the directors in the eye and tell them what I think is best for the company,'' Woodford, a 30-year veteran at Olympus, told reporters in Tokyo.

Woodford added, ''I just hope they understand the game is up and do the decent thing, stop damaging the company. Don't look for self-interest, look for the 45,000 people. Have some shame, have some dignity, that's what I want to tell them.''

Woodford, who returned to Tokyo on Wednesday, after hastily leaving for his native England after being sacked as CEO in October, welcomed the resignations of former president and chairman Tsuyoshi Kikukawa, former vice-president Hisashi Mori and internal auditor Hideo Yamada.

He, however, demanded that the entire board of directors should also resign (See: Camera-maker Olympus admits to window-dressing books).

''If they have an iota of care for the company then they should realise what they have done and give assurances they will resign in the near future,'' said an outspoken Woodford, who also took on Japanese shareholders for their passivity and the media for failing to pursue the scandal.

Trouble broke out at the nearly century-old camera and endoscope maker last month after Woodford – who had just been promoted as CEO – questioned the top management about payments of more than a billion dollars to obscure companies that helped Olympus acquire other firms.

The British whistleblower's sacking resulted in a snowballing crisis, with other international investors demanding answers to serious questions about funds being siphoned off.
Kikukawa quit as president and chairman on 26 October and Mori was fired along with Yamada, after the management admitted that the company had been hiding losses for several years by paying off unknown entities for overses acquisitions.

However, they submitted their resignations from the board of directors only on Thursday.

Shuichi Takayama, who is now the president of the company, said the management team was ready to quit after the company's revival plan became clear.

Woodford said he was confident that the Japanese authorities would thoroughly probe the scandal. ''The talks with authorities have passed all my expectations,'' he said after meeting police officials, prosecutors and regulators.

''It's very evident to me they are going to investigate this whole issue without bias and thoroughly, and that will include following the money flows in relation to all the transactions,''

(Also see: Olympus shares should not be delisted: former CEO Micahel Woodford)