I was stunned by recent media reports that Takuhiko Tsuruta, president of the Nihon Keizai Shimbun newspaper, had become a whistle-blowing target. At a company shareholders meeting, a proposal demanding Tsuruta's dismissal from the board was presented by an editor and shareholder of the newspaper. Tsuruta survived the motion.
Newspapers rarely report problems within the industry, but major dailies and affiliated weekly magazines reported the Tsuruta affair in a big way. According to the reports, Tsuruta was accused of mismanagement over a number of bills drawn by a Nikkei affiliate as well as a suspicious relationship with a lover.
Although relatively uncommon in the newspaper industry, whistle-blowing has become increasingly common in the business world. For example, scandals over Snow Brand Food Co.'s mislabeling of beef and Tokyo Electric Power Co.'s coverup of technical problems at its nuclear power plants came to light through whistle-blowing.