'Olympus chairman quits; Japan watchdog probes firm' by Taiga Uranaka "TOKYO, Oct 26 (Reuters) - Olympus Corp head Tsuyoshi Kikukawa resigned on Wednesday after a scandal over hefty advisory fees wiped out half of the 92-year- old firm's market value while his successor stuck with the company's line that it had done nothing wrong. Olympus fired its British chief executive, Michael Woodford, on Oct. 14, just two weeks after his appointment as CEO, saying he failed to understand the company's management style and Japanese culture. Kikukawa then took over Woodford's role. Woodford, who cut his teeth at the camera and endoscope maker as a British salesman when he joined in 1980, said he was sacked for questioning a $687 million advisory fee linked to a $2.2 billion takeover in 2008 as well as other deals he says have destroyed about $1.3 billion of shareholder value. He has called for the resignation of Olympus' entire board while sending dossiers on odd-looking deals to Britain's Serious Fraud Office (SFO) and Japan's Securities and Exchange Surveillance Commission (SESC). He is also in touch with the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation, and was in New York on Wednesday to meet with the agency. Unanswered questions about the Gyrus deal and other Olympus acquisitions have spurred various theories, including speculation Japan's yakuza crime syndicates, euphemistically referred to as "anti-social forces," could be involved." http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/10/26/olympus-idUSN1E7NP0X020111026 Mike Douglas is getting a bit long in the tooth but he could resurrect his 'Black Rain' role, this time as an FBI investigator flitting between New York, the Cayman Islands and Tokyo where the final showdown/shootout takes place
a little update by Linda Sieg TOKYO | Tue Nov 8, 2011 9:42am GMT 'Analysis - Japan tries, again, to cut corporate ties to yakuza' "(Reuters) - Aki Tsurumaki says he never felt his life was in danger during the 15 years he has been helping companies escape entanglements with Japan's "yakuza" crime syndicates. But the 42-year-old lawyer jokes that he does not take any chances, adding with a smile, "I never stand near the edge of the train platform." The dark and sometimes dangerous triad of ties among gangsters, businesses and politicians has a long tradition in Japan, which helps explain why a scandal engulfing Japan's Olympus Corp has stirred up media and market talk of possible yakuza links, despite company denials and a lack of evidence. Ousted Olympus CEO Michael Woodford has told Reuters he will not return to Japan to meet investigators due to "security issues," although he declines to spell out his fears. And Facta, a Japanese magazine that broke the Olympus story, says a Cayman Islands firm linked to some Olympus deals had indirect ties to "anti-social forces" -- a common euphemism for organised crime." http://uk.reuters.com/article/2011/...me=GCA-GoogleNewsUK&google_editors_picks=true see also: 'Olympus admits hid losses for decades' by Nathan Layne and Isabel Reynolds TOKYO | Tue Nov 8, 2011 2:04pm EST http://www.reuters.com/article/2011...Name=topNews&rpc=71&google_editors_picks=true
'Renowned Japanese temple refuses yakuza visits' by Junko Fujita "TOKYO (Reuters) - Enryakuji Temple, one of Japan's most prestigious temples near the ancient capital Kyoto, has refused to allow members of Japan's biggest organised crime syndicate to pay their respects there an official said on Saturday. The temple's refusal follows a request from police, who are cracking down on yakuza gangsters nationwide. News of the temple's refusal was reported widely by Japanese media amid speculation that organised crime was somehow involved in an accounting scandal at Japan's disgraced Olympus (Xetra: 856840 - news). Full and "associate" members totalled 80,900, down from 88,600 in 1990, of which almost half were members of the Yamaguchi-gumi, which is based in Kobe in western Japan." http://uk.finance.yahoo.com/news/Renowned-Japanese-temple-reuters_molt-3671261874.html?x=0 'Yamaguchi-gumi': http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yamaguchi-gumi "Criminal activities: arms trafficking, assassinations, bank fraud, bid rigging, blackmail, bookmaking, contract killing, extortion, drug trafficking, illegal gambling, Internet pornography, loansharking, mail fraud, match fixing, money laundering, mortgage fraud, murder, prostitution, racketeering, securities fraud, sōkaiya *, wire fraud, and infiltration of legitimate businesses" *Sōkaiya: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sōkaiya "Sōkaiya (sometimes also translated as corporate bouncers, meeting-men, or corporate blackmailers) are a form of specialized racketeer unique to Japan, and often associated with the yakuza that extort money from or blackmail companies by threatening to publicly humiliate companies and their management, usually in their annual meeting. Companies that have bribed sōkaiya. Major companies that have been found guilty of employing sōkaiya include but are not limited to: Mitsubishi, including a number of arrests Daiwa Securities Group Nikko Securities Nomura Securities Co., with three top executive pleading guilty for multi-million dollar payments. In this case, the sōkaiya actually owned enough stock to propose one of their choosing as a member for the board of directors. After the scandal came to light, the entire board resigned. Nippon Shinpan, forcing the president Yoji Yamada into retirement after various executives paid up to Â¥80 million (approx. US$850,000) to the subsequently arrested Kikuo Kondo of the Sumiyoshi-kai, although police reports only Â¥28.35 million. Dai-Ichi Kangyo The Tokyo Electric Power Company Meiji Seika