Search fails to find missing JR Hokkaido president
SAPPORO —
A joint search conducted by the police, coast guard and 30 JR employees has failed to find any clues as to the whereabouts of the president of JR Hokkaido, Naotoshi Nakajima, who went missing on Monday.
NHK reported that Nakajima’s car was found abandoned on a road along the coastline on Monday morning. He had also left several suicide notes at his home addressed to his wife and to JR.
Police said Thursday that the search zone has now been expanded to 20 km north from where Nakajima’s car was found. According to police, a pair of man’s shoes were found on the beach during a search on Tuesday, but police say they are still trying to identify the owner.
Nakajima has been under intense pressure since a JR Hokkaido train derailed and caught fire in a tunnel in May. More than 35 passengers suffered injuries. In July, the transport ministry ordered JR Hokkaido to improve its safety procedures.
Nakajima’s disappearance comes just days before the board of directors was due to meet with the ministry to present their plan to improve safety. In his absence, the remaining members of the board have announced their decision to present their improvement measures as scheduled on Friday.
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19 Comments
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2
Gurukun
I hope they find him alive. Nothing can be so bad to take one's own life. The loved ones left behind suffer more than he is/was.
0
Foxie
Looks like Dream Beach was his last dream. Nobody died during that accident, so I can't understand why he wanted to commit suicide.
-4
Asagao
Japanese law states that the government gets half the deceased estate. Where is the body?
-1
JapanGal
What law is that Asagao? I want to read up on it.
-4
The Munya Times
Could have avoided the intense pressure by proper, solid, humane workforce management that would have included effective training and education instead of ruthless disciplinary actions. By employing diligent hardworking, willing to learn and work maintenance staff for decent salaries, instead of being proud of producing high profit including his own skyrocketing salary at his workers expenses and in general, being able to recognize the difference between a boss and a leader and choosing the latter one for everybody's best benefit.
Sometimes life brings the pain home and suddenly they find themselves in cruel reality instead of their comforting and safe velvet armchair.
Than the world's sympathy goes out for the poor missing, fallen big boy, the JR Hokkaido president .
Not so mine, who cannot forget the hundreds of victims who could only thank their life to God or their good luck , when the driver delayed to open the door keeping the scared passengers captive in the cars in smoke and flames for prolonged time because of the order he got from his superiors from the control room, and not to the president and his yes men following his incompetent reign in the company.
Dear Mr. JR Hokkaido president, welcome back to reality and my heart still goes out for the victims in agonizing fear of death being locked in the burning cars, and sorry, not for you.
5
cleo
Inheritance tax law says that the tax rate is 50% less 4.5 million on an estate in excess of 300 million yen after the basic deduction of 50 million yen per estate + 10 million yen per legal beneficiary and any other deductions that may be applicable. Which means only the stinking rich pay 50%. And they can afford wily lawyers and accountants to bring that down further. It's simply not true that the government takes 50% of the estate across the board. I very much doubt many posters on JT need lose sleep worrying over this.
2
John Lawrence
Maybe in a little wooden boat floating off the North Korean shoreline?
0
Chinchan Zu
suicide is not the answer. its not his fault why it was derailed. and thank God nobody got killed unlike in the chinese shinkansen. there should be a regular checkup on the trains and tracks but its not his job. there must be someone pressuring him up to the point that he thinks its better to end his life... this is a really weird incident
0
gogogo
Sounds like the board is the issue, they seemed to have wanted him gone.
1
Nessie
He died the way he lived: as a general nuisance to society and his company. At least he was decent enough not to take anyone with him.
-1
miyazawa3
We are very sorry to here that, if he Suicide, this is not a joke...he is such a big boss...Certain people are with high self motivation to extremely high personal confidence, make feels them they are the absolute right and are not ready to accept mistakes shown . I am sorry to tell most Gaijins do not understand this kind of typical Japanese characters.
2
Darren Brannan
Travelled pretty extensively in hokkaido and it is a place that would be easy to disappear in. Some of the surf up there is Akin to Australia. Rough and nasty. It is a shame the native culture makes it gallant for folk to take that way out instead of facing up to problems and learning from them. Probably a decent guy who had worked his way up the ladder too. Even in my students I see this culture of escape and withdrawal in situations they feel are too much hard work.. I will go the full throttle and aim for seven thumbs down and say that even the folks that drown themselves in manga and anime/rpg do so because they feel safer in a fake world they don't have to face their problems in. Well the govt. Here hardly provides them with better role models. I think it is awesome that so many of his staff and other folk spent so much time looking for him. I hope he chose a better option and faces his demons.
-2
The Munya Times
Chinchan ZuSep. 15, 2011 - 05:38PM JST
Exactly, that's what I am saying in my post too, that's what everybody says. How many people must die before these stubborn, blockheads, unconscionable execs eventually will be willing to spend money for safety check-ups and maintenance and staff. But, yes, it is the president's job to ordain, execute and organize the safety procedures/measures and relocate the budget for that. Then whose job is it if not the president's, specially in such a hierarchic society like Japan?
What does the article says?
Now, posters say, every sane people say, the government says! What should be then the right way to make them understand and obey the rule? Isn't it still not enough. How many people should tell them and how many times before they understand and accept?
Skipping safety measures is common everywhere and as far as I see the execs' microscopic goodwill and their even smaller worry for human life as well as their tiny amount of responsibility, mental power and their poor understanding of the problem, my guess is that at least 63 000 academics should explain them for 560 years until they eventually will be capable to understand what their job is about.
1
malfupete
Japan is the best. Instead of taking responsibility for their actions they just kill themselves.
-1
Asagao
TEPCO and Kan never killed themselves, that makes your comment pretty irrelevant....
-2
The Munya Times
miyazawa3Sep. 15, 2011 - 06:25PM JST
And I am sorry to say but most Japanese don't understand themselves, what they do and why they do that. After long years of conversations with Japanese, this impression has become fixed within me.
0
Hide Suzuki
@The Munya Times And somehow you understnad Japanese people, yourselves and everyone around you ? Preach on dude, yes, you have an answer for everything, I"m sure. And I'm sure you do your job perfectly and never made any mistake in your entire life.
0
The Munya Times
Getting derisive and offensive toward me neither makes you smarter nor supports your point.
Failure to carry out obligatory maintenance works, failure to keep the safety regulation and to toe the line is not a mistake, it's professional negligence and neglect of duty, punishable by the law. Do they need the ministry to warn them and tell them what their duty is?
Giving order to the driver to not to open the door for prolonged time when the cars caught fire in the tunnel and locking up passengers in the tunnel in the burning cars is a crime.
Forgetting about the horror the victims went through and about their suffering in the burning cars deep in the tunnel and just escaping from responsibility even into suicide, if that is the case at all and he is not somewhere else enjoying his freedom is cowardice and unprincipledness . His death is not confirm yet. Escaping from court procedure and responsibility, not paying decent compensation to the victims is unprincipledness and a crime.
Just wanted to get it right.
1
Al Stewart
@The Munya Times Well said! Completely agree. Too many have accepted this "shoganai" way of thinking. How does committing suicide fix anything? It is a waste of life. There are so many people in the world in worse situations that are struggling with all there power to live.
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