Saturday May 26, 2012

JAPAN NEWS AND DISCUSSION

Japanese prosecutors question ex-Olympus vice president

Crime Nov. 20, 2011 - 04:51PM JST ( 19 )

The requested article has expired, and is no longer available. Any related articles, and user comments are shown below.

Order by Time Order by Popularity

19 Comments

3

CrazyJoeNov. 20, 2011 - 08:22AM JST

When are the guys involved going to be arrested?
1

GodanNov. 20, 2011 - 08:23AM JST

Probably went something like this:

Prosecutor: Did you do anything wrong?

Mori: No.

Prosecutor: Where'd all the money go?

Mori: Wink wink.

Prosecutor: OK. We're done. Thank you for your help. We sincerely appreciate your time and cooperation.

Mori: .... (Leaves room knowing he'll be found guilty of some idiot crime and get a suspended sentence that means nothing.)
0

Jared NormanNov. 20, 2011 - 10:19AM JST

Just arrest Kikukawa he is guilty.
-1

CrickyNov. 20, 2011 - 10:29AM JST

No one remembers anything!
0

hoserfellaNov. 20, 2011 - 11:01AM JST

sympathy-seeking trip to the hospital coming in 3..2..1...
0

globalwatcherNov. 20, 2011 - 02:03PM JST

Britain’s Serious Fraud Office has also launched an investigation, along with probes by Japanese and other international agencies amid media speculation that yakuza crime syndicates may be involved in the scandal.

I wonder why US is not joining the investigation. There are some US investors who have lost money too. But anyway, I am glad the Justice Department of Japan is finally taking this case seriously now.
-2

smithinjapanNov. 20, 2011 - 02:42PM JST

Ah.... Japanese prosecutors! Meaning the opposite of what their job title should incorporate. How about these guys face questioning by the British watchdog group investigating, or the FBI? Nah.... best 'invite' them to answer questions and have them voluntarily admit nothing. It is Japan, after all.
1

globalwatcherNov. 20, 2011 - 03:05PM JST

smith, there are very talented American Chief Financial officers with CPA and law degrees here in US with solid experiences.. This is a great job opportunity for them to move into Japanese corporatons. They can do it right instead of those yo-yo Japanese CFO and CPA with no ethics.
0

sillygirlNov. 20, 2011 - 03:45PM JST

stick it to him and all others who played with money not theit own.
-2

smithinjapanNov. 20, 2011 - 04:18PM JST

globalwatcher: Agreed, but they won't. Keep in mind this was a 'voluntary' questioning, which means nothing at all will come of it. No corrupt Japanese exec is going to volunteer to questioning if they stand a chance of suffering from it.
0

YubaruNov. 20, 2011 - 04:30PM JST

I wonder why US is not joining the investigation

GW the FBI is investigating Olympus as well.
0

YubaruNov. 20, 2011 - 04:35PM JST

I have also read that Olympus is not registered with the SEC in the US so they do not need to file regular financial statements.
0

ubikwitNov. 20, 2011 - 06:38PM JST

there's good coverage of this in the sunday asahi herald tribune, but this article is woefully lacking.

the yakuza were onto their huge losses on stupid bets made in the stock markets, basically, and blackmailed them or something along the lines of a sokaiya scam, according to that article.

all of the companies they invested in were either yakuza front companies or connected to the yakuza.

it's a sick and pathetic tale of the execs at olympus. if it is accurate, apparently olympus will be delisted for colluding with organized crime.

it would seem that the authorities can nail the two brothers that were associated with nomura and served as middle men with the yakuza, but i wonder if the olympus people will be liable for any criminal activity. the recently enacted laws about providing funds to the yakuza would have ensured that, but what about this scenario?
0

lostrune2Nov. 20, 2011 - 10:00PM JST

Falsifying financial reports defrauded investors worldwide who want their money back.
0

herefornowNov. 20, 2011 - 11:21PM JST

If it is proven that the yakuza were involved in this incident, it could be a severe blow to Japan Inc. going forward. Foreign companies and investors have always been suspicious of Japanese business practices -- having heard the stories of yakuza members being on-staff to control investors at annual meetings -- but this would potentially confirm the worst of those suspicions. And Japanese companies cannot simply rely on domestic capital if it wants to remain competitive in the future, since the population is shrinking along with the savings base available to the banks. Will be interesting to see how aggressively this is prosecuted, or if it is swept under the carpet for the good of Japan Inc. A huge cross-roads for Japan and its international status/perception in regards corporate governance and ethics.
0

BazzaNov. 21, 2011 - 01:11AM JST

That'll be the last time a foreigner gets a management job in a Japanese company, anyway!
0

ubikwitNov. 21, 2011 - 04:38AM JST

this is not a case of olympus having yakuza on their staff to intimidate investors--which sounds ludicrous--but of yakuza in the background, unseen, extorting money from the idiot executives because the yakuza were aware of their foolish investments.

recent laws would prevent such spineless corporate dweebs from shelling out cash to criminal organizations. granted, that is long overdue in this country.

on the other hand, the yakuza influence in japan is simply a parallel to the influence of another largely behind the scenes and secretive society in the usa and europe, the freemasons.

in fact, the yakuza were basically set up by the cia after wwii, and the cia was established by a 33 degree freemason, harry truman, whose administration then proceeding to put war criminal in positions of administrative authority here in japan.

so, where is the source of malignancy in this systemic rot?
0

ubikwitNov. 21, 2011 - 04:42AM JST

in other words, the idiot executives of olympus were not collaborating with organized crime, just being exploited and extorted for their absolutely idiotic and irresponsible losing investments of company funds in the funny money stock market.
0

globalwatcherNov. 21, 2011 - 07:27AM JST

Keep in mind this was a 'voluntary' questioning, which means nothing at all will come of it.

Geewiz, smith. I just do not understand why the court still cannot issue a search warrant against Olympus to secure evidence and start asking questons to all who were involved in this scam. Is it because Olympus is now trying to disclose the financial statement (modified or revised?) to public by mid December? I am clueless and am scratching my head and say, "oh well, this is Japan again...."

Besides the point, the prosecutors have a solid criminal case against Olympus IMHO.