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| The word Yakuza written in Katakana |
There have been rumours circulating that Japanese Organized Crime gangs (The Yakuza) have been involved in helping conceal the investment losses that have occurred in the OC. Take for example this story from Reuters: Yakuza crackdown may derail effort to Olympus listed
On the other hand, there are quite clear denials that there has been any evidence found of organised crime involvement, in this case in the Financial Times: Olympus panel says no Yakuza involvement
The first point I would like to make is that different Government agencies and regulators have different agendas. An intelligent whistleblower may, at least in the beginning, try to match their disclosure to the agency that most closely reflects the area of public concern.
But it would be rash to assume that once the disclosure has been made that the receiving agency has the interests of the whistleblower at heart and/ or that they will support the whistleblower going forward.
Secondly, I’ve had some experience with Japanese culture and, together with the Sony information debacle, the leaks form the nuclear power plant, and the commercial property fiasco of the mid-1990's, I'm tempted to add a few personal observations.
• When things first go wrong, a Japanese corporate culture tends to close in against the outsider.
• The tendency to deny everything triumphs to begin with and then the truth dribbles out.
• Regulators who may have appeared to be asleep at the wheel then go into overdrive to prove their worth.
• Exasperated international shareholders start to exert pressure to get an independent report
• The firm involved usually ends up doing the right thing.
• The Yakuza show up somewhere along the food chain (NB Nothing yet re the Fukushima incident).
As ever, your comments are welcome.
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