A spate of corporate scandals have rocked Japan this year. Snow Brand Foods Co. and Nippon Ham Co. mislabeled beef, abusing the government's buyback program that was set up to bail out the beef industry following the outbreak of mad cow disease in Japan. Trading giant Mitsui & Co. was implicated in a payoff scandal involving a Mongolian project funded by Japanese official development assistance. And Tokyo Electric Power Co. falsified inspection reports for its nuclear reactors.
Tepco is a blue-chip company whose executives served as leaders of major business organizations, such as the Japan Business Federation and the Japan Association of Corporate Executives. The Tepco scandal has damaged the reputation of Japan's business community.
The Mitsui imbroglio has tarnished the image of Japan as a major ODA provider. All of these scandals stemmed from cozy ties between business executives and bureaucrats. The basic problem, however, lies with Japanese companies' lack of self-control.