Saturday May 26, 2012

JAPAN NEWS AND DISCUSSION

Former Olympus exec launches petition to reinstate Woodford

By Yuri Kageyama

Crime Nov. 19, 2011 - 02:50PM JST ( 20 )

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20 Comments

0

some14someNov. 19, 2011 - 07:21AM JST

Woodford is not a magician or miracle man, any fair/honest and competent person could have done it or say...can do it now also.
3

buggerlugsNov. 19, 2011 - 08:29AM JST

And yet in 20 years he was the only one who did it... Says something in itself me thinks. No one else is going to want to take on this problem.
-1

herefornowNov. 19, 2011 - 08:40AM JST

any fair/honest and competent person could have done it

Some -- which as buggerlugs points out eliminates the entire current board of Olympus and those that have served on it in the past decade or so, as well as their auditors. Never thought I'd see the day when their was a petition in Japan to bring back an ousted giajin manager. The REAL showdown will be at next year's shareholders's meeting, since as the article points out, that is the only way he can be formally removed.
1

RealJapanNov. 19, 2011 - 08:46AM JST

Japan seems to be anti-foreign with no rule of law. Only loyalty and custom rules. Even if Woodford returns the rank and file at Olympus still loyal to the ex-chairman and corrupt board of directors will sabotage Woodford. What's the point of coming back to Japan to have his reputation tarnished? Nissan's foreign CEO was different. At least a foreign company owned enough shares to put a CEO in charge with the power to make changes. Perhaps Sony too should be investigated. Why put Stringer in charge? He has being struggling from day one.

Nissan's CEO was given the power to make changes for the best of the company and the employees since a foreign company owned most of the shares. At Sony and Olympus given a foreign CEO the power is just show. Do you think Toyota Inc. will ever put a foreign CEO in charge? I think not.

Why put Livedoor Horie in jail but let the Olympus board of criminals walk away with just a bow?
1

YubaruNov. 19, 2011 - 08:59AM JST

Why put Livedoor Horie in jail but let the Olympus board of criminals walk away with just a bow?

Cripes give the investigators time to make their cases before bringing out the lynch mob please. I realize that because of the internet people expect instant results but you have to give people a chance to do their jobs.

Or are you the type to convict a person(s) in the court of public opinion?
0

zichiNov. 19, 2011 - 09:03AM JST

Livedoor Horie was put in prison because he was a member of the old boy network.
0

RealJapanNov. 19, 2011 - 09:07AM JST

Yubaru please enlighten me: Which investigators are you referring to the FBI and UK financial security regulators that will conduct their case based on facts and evidence or the Japanese police who will make Woodford possibly "confess to the cover up" upon his return? In fact has not Woodford already being convicted in the court of public opinion by being fired from the company and being a whistleblower? Woodford stay safe by staying away from Olympus. The rank and file will try to sabotage you in the long run.
0

seesaw1Nov. 19, 2011 - 09:10AM JST

At long last....a kind Japanese soul. I hope Mr Woodford will have a happy ending, though it a rare one for gaijins in Japan.
0
RealJapanNov. 19, 2011 - 09:13AM JST

Zichi you have to be joking (LOL) - "old boy network" would not even relate to Horie
- ModeratorNov. 19, 2011 - 09:16AM JST
  
  Readers, Horie is not relevant to this discussion.
1

zichiNov. 19, 2011 - 09:20AM JST

RealJapan

sorry my typing error, should be because he wasn't a member of the old boy network!
0

RealJapanNov. 19, 2011 - 09:33AM JST

Koji Miyata has a good heart. It is obvious he cares about Japan and Japan Inc. However, his kind-heartedness and free thinking attitude is not enough for one individual to change Japan. Miyata only received 377 signatures before his web site crashed. Did you know that Olympus has a total of 34,391 employees? It says a lot on why Woodford should not return.
-2

Hide SuzukiNov. 19, 2011 - 10:16AM JST

@some14some, "any fair/honest and competent person could have done it or say...can do it now also." Yup, that's what incompetent people always say :) "I can do that" LOL
2

globalwatcherNov. 19, 2011 - 11:52AM JST

Even though Koji Miyata's intention to launch the petition is good, it does not serve the best interest for society.

Apparenty Mr.Koji Miyata does not understand the complexity of law as the matter is now being investigated by the police and prosecutors. I am pasting the most recent article on NY Times on Olympus.This investigation may leads to more findings on corrupted Japanese corporations. Now I am not sure if any of those financial statements are true and correct for underwriting. No more global investors to pump blood into Japanese economy unless this issue is totally cleared.

Analysts also warned that more Japanese companies could be hiding losses they incurred in asset-and-stock-price bubble economy of the late 1980s.
1

gogogoNov. 19, 2011 - 12:45PM JST

Isn't this guy guilty also? Sounds like he's trying to cover his own butt
0

wanderlustNov. 19, 2011 - 01:43PM JST

Michael Woodford has NOT been fired from the company - he is still a director (non-executive) taking home a salary. No employees have lost jobs, no factories have shut down, Olympus products are stil being manufactured and sold. The only losses have been shareholder value and reputation.
0

GWNov. 19, 2011 - 01:51PM JST

Miyata, question for ya!

Since you were there right in the thick of ALL THIS, did you know what was going down? Its highly likley you were part of the problem, now you want to look like you wanna do right, puuuuleeeeeze!
1

globalwatcherNov. 19, 2011 - 02:26PM JST

The only losses have been shareholder value and reputation

You've got it right. Reputation of Japan Inc. as a whole has been in question in global economy. Wd do not trust eonomic data coming out of China as they are somewhat distorted. Japan is now lowering itself to that level. No body are serious to fix the core problem of Olympus yet. Time is money here. Please fix it.
-1

herefornowNov. 19, 2011 - 10:08PM JST

No body are serious to fix the core problem of Olympus yet. Time is money here. Please fix it

globalwatcher -- agree and nice sentiment, but if you understand how Japanese corporate finances work, you'll quickly realize why this problem cannot be "fixed" and will just be swept undr the carpet. Most Japanese companies have their stock owned by other Japanese companies -- that is why Olympus had to start fudging the books in the first place. So if all of a sudden, all these companies came clean, and their stock prices tanked as a result, then the shock-wave through Japan Inc. would be catastophic. It would be an uncontollable snowball. Also, since the Japanese banks own much of the stock, and have huge loans outstanding with these companies, they would crumble as well. And the bureaucrats and authorities know that. So for the "good" of Japan, no severe prosecution of Olympus will be undertaken and no measure passed to change corporate governance in Japan. Once again, the model of Japan Inc. will keep the country from moving forward in the manner needed for the 21st century and continue to be stuck in a broken model.
0

globalwatcherNov. 20, 2011 - 12:13AM JST

herefornow, I agree. Japan needs to change for moving forward to catch up with the 21st century globalization. Hope the Justice Department of Japan takes over this matter seriously and sending these "White Color" criminals to jail for real reform..

Till then, no more blood (global capital) will be flowing into Japan, therefore no Japanese economic growth. That's how I see it. Too bad.