Senator Grassley's remarks about following "the Japanese example"

Senator Charles Grassley (R - Iowa), a member of the Senate Finance Committee, remarking about AIG executives in a radio interview on Monday, March 16th:

"The first thing that would make me feel a little bit better toward them (is) if they'd follow the Japanese example and come before the American people and take that deep bow and say, I'm sorry, and then either do one of two things: resign or go commit suicide," Grassley said. "And in the case of the Japanese," he added, "they usually commit suicide before they make any apology." (Reuters)

So what is he talking about? Here's an incomplete survey of Japanese CEOs or Excecutives resigning or commiting suicide due to scandals:

Kuniji Miyazaki, former chairman of Dai-Ichi Kangyo Bank, committed suicide 6/30/1997 after being investigated for having links to organized crime.

Sogo Department Store Yasuharu Abe committed suicide 4/27/2000 after the company racked up enormous debt worth JPY 580 billion ($5.8 billion).

H.S. Securities vice-president Hideaki Noguchi committed suicide 1/19/2006 when his firm was raided in connection to the Livedoor scandal.

Nippon Long-Term Credit Bank president Tadayo Honma committed suicide 9/21/2000 after the government agreed to a capital injection worth JPY 260 billion ($2.6 billion) in capital.

Teikyo University CEO Shoichi Okinaga, resigned 9/18/2002 for pay-for-admissions scandal amounting to JPY 860 million (approx $8.6 million).

Television network NTV chairman Noritada Hosokawa, resigned 3/16/2009 for a false news report.

Sumitomo Bank chairman Ichiro Isoda, resigned 10/8/1990 when a branch manager made $167 million in illegal loans.

Rintaro Fujii, chairman of the Fujiya chain of restaurants, resigned 1/15/2008 after it was discovered they used out-of-date ingredients in their cakes.

Mitsubishi Fuso Truck chairman Takashi Usami resigned 4/17/2004 over a design defect.

Utility company Chubu Electric Co. chairman Hiroji Ota resigned 7/27/2004 for dubious purchases of antiques totalling JPY 600 million ($6 million).

Japan Airlines chairman Isao Kaneko resigned 5/31/2005 after a series of incidents caused safety concerns.

Nippon Meat Packers chairman Yoshinori Ohkoso resigned 8/21/2002 over a beef mislabling scandal.

NEC chairman Tadahiro Sekimoto resigned 10/26/1998 when NEC subsidiaries overbilled the Japan Defense Agency.

The Mystery of Men, Solved

Japanese toy maker Bandai is making a little device that helps women test, and presumably enhance, how appealing they are to men. The "Onna-Dameshi" (roughly, "Woman Test") looks like a makeup compact and and retails for JPY 2,499 (approx $27 USD at today's exchange rate).

There are 4 modes of play (translations my own, with artistic liberties taken)
(1) measuring your "sex appeal quotient," in which you answer questions such as "What hairstyle do guys find the most desirable?" (A: "Semi-long.")
(2) "Fishing game," in which you try to catch 36 different types of guy; a well-timed button press catches a man and yields a question you must answer about his type.
(3) "Queen of the Hill," in which two to four ladies are pitted against each other in a quiz tournament.
(4) "Test it Out," in which you give your Onna-Dameshi over to a guy in whom you are interested. He answers 10 questions designed to diagnose which one of the 36 types of guy he is. Then you answer 5 questions yourself to see how well you know him.

A Vote for Good Food

Today, we went to a neighborhood Vietnamese restaurant called Chopsticks. On a cold winter day, it's a great place to get a hot bowl of Pho. The place often has a lot of empty seats, and it makes me wonder if they make enough money to stay in business. We were treated to a new menu today that featured Thai, Sushi and other Japanese dishes like udon noodles in addition to the Vietnamese fare. Apparently, that way the restaurant can appeal to more people. I understand it's for survival, but I am still disappointed. This dinner discussion reminded me of something I read recently about Whole Foods and whether it will make it through a slowing economy. It made me conscious of how I spend my food dollars. I am essentially voting when I shop or eat. Think about who or what you want to vote for.