Ousted Olympus CEO Michael Woodford, who is campaigning to regain his old job at the disgraced Japanese company, said on Wednesday that he wanted no part in breaking up the firm, now struggling to survive a massive accounting scandal.

Woodford, who blew the whistle on the $1.7 billion scheme to hide investment losses stretching back two decades, told a meeting with opposition lawmakers that he was ready to meet Olympus President Shuichi Takayama at any time and that he wanted to avoid a proxy fight for control of the 92-year-old maker of cameras and endoscopes.

Woodford, who arrived in Tokyo late on Tuesday for his second trip to Japan since he fled to Britain after being sacked in October, faces a battle with the current board in his campaign to return to the helm of the company.

Olympus faces a deadline on Wednesday to publish its earnings for the six months to September and will also release revised past financial statements.

(Reporting by Tim Kelly; Editing by Edwina Gibbs)