With defect cover-ups, kickbacks, price-rigging and bribery scandals making headlines almost daily, Japan's shoddy business ethics are back in the spotlight. On April 25th, public prosecutors in Tokyo indicted Mitsubishi Motors and four of its top executives for covering up defects affecting thousands of vehicles. Over the past year, Bridgestone, Mitsubishi Electric and Sanyo Electric have also been caught hiding defects in tyres, television sets and solar-cell systems. Companies in Japan are still grappling with such basic matters as drawing up codes of conduct and dealing with discrimination. This, to western ears, sounds like a debate that should have happened decades ago.
展开▼
