Asahi Kasei. Toyo Tire & Rubber. Toshiba. What's the connection? Executives lined up before the cameras, bowing their heads in shame.
Shame for what — their wrongdoing, or their exposure? That's their business. A sordid picture either way — substandard construction, falsified data, bogus accounting — details of which, fortunately, are too familiar to need elaboration here. Volkswagen merits a passing mention as a reminder that Japan has no monopoly on corruption. With that, we move on.
"The tip of the iceberg" is a recurring journalistic phrase, and it surely applies here. The naive belief in honesty prevailing except where dishonesty surfaces is rare nowadays, if not extinct. Good riddance to it.