‘They are a national disgrace.’ That was the response of a Japanese friend when I asked for her opinion on Fujitsu, the Japanese company at the heart of the recent UK Post Office IT scandal. But her answer was not in any way coloured by the company’s involvement in the affair (they supplied the dodgy software), of which she knew absolutely nothing. But then why should she? There has not been a single news item in the Japanese media. And ITVx is not yet available in Asia.
The Japan Times, for example, found space yesterday for a piece on the ‘world’s oldest pyramid’ in Indonesia (which may in fact not be) and a piece on the viability of the Panama Canal. But there was none for a major international scandal that could see one of Japan’s corporate titans humiliated on the world stage and forced to pay millions in compensation.
Does cronyism (the media is an essential part of the system) entirely explain the lack of interest?
When I brought my friend up to speed on what appears to have happened in the UK she wasn’t in the least surprised.
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