The admission by Olympus Corp., a major maker of cameras and endoscopes, that it has covered up investment losses since the 1990s damages not only the firm but also the image of corporate Japan.

It is all the more regrettable that the financial wrongdoing, which has become the target of a criminal investigation by the Metropolitan Police Department, was committed by a 92-year-old company known for its technological prowess and enjoying a more than 70 percent share in the global market for endoscopes for digestive organs.

It is suspected that at the peak of its deception, Olympus concealed losses amounting to some ¥130 billion. The firm could be delisted from the Tokyo Stock Exchange.