Let’s Learn the Other Side of Japanese Apolog ies

*Hiragana Times CIA(Cynically Insulting Agency)

In 2007, cases of the dishonest practice of changing freshness dates on food products by leading food companies and renowned brands including Fujiya, Shiroi Koibito, Akafuku and Kitcho were uncovered one after another. This has now become a big issue. What is going on behind the scenes? Hiragana Times CIA interviewed Professor HIKAGE Masateru, a leading expert in dishonest trading.

CIA: Professor, why has this kind of dishonesty regarding freshness dates been occurring so frequently?

Prof.: In short, this regulation is just like the speed limit rule. As you know, almost all drivers drive over the speed limit. If every driver does this, it will surely cause a big traffic jam. Therefore, drivers are openly driving faster than the limit. Although sometimes police crack down on drivers, those who are caught speeding often get angry and ask the policeman “Why me?” instead of expressing regret. After all, he feels that if the police catches him, then they should catch all drivers who break the speed limit.

CIA: Well then, do you mean that scandal-tainted executives who apologize by bowing deeply don’t actually feel sorry in their minds?

Prof.: Many Japanese executives don’t feel that they have committed criminal acts. Instead they think they were just “unlucky.” Although the Chinese food scandals that have hit the headlines did cause harm to people, in the Japanese case, they only disguised the freshness dates and rarely caused harm to customers. In other words, it is the same kind of awareness as that experienced if they are unlucky enough to be caught breaking the speed limit, but not caught for causing an accident due to drunken driving.

CIA: Are there any problems with the regulation rules?

Prof.: The regulation violating cars will sharply drop if the speed limit is set to the speed that most people drive at. Similarly, if the freshness dates of food products are extended, most food items will not be caught up in freshness date expiration scandals. In fact, behind the scenes, many companies used to extend product freshness dates. But, nevertheless, there have been no reports of people suffering from food poisoning due to expired food.

CIA: Do you want to say that they should set more appropriate regulations in accordance with actual conditions?

Prof.: If things remains as they are now, more and more foods will be disposed of unnecessarily. At present there are 1 billion people in the world who do not have enough daily food. The amount of food thrown away is very wasteful. Food regulations are set by government officers who are afraid of being accused should there be an outbreak of food poisoning. With this in mind, they tend to set overly-severe regulations than those that reflect actual conditions. Since people try to stay within the law based on these unrealistic regulations, problems naturally arise.

Comment from CIA
The executives of private enterprises pretend to apologize by bowing at an angle of 90 degrees whenever a dishonest practice is discovered and they face the press. On the other hand, when politicians and officials are under suspicion of dishonest acts, they always say, “I don’t remember.” Since they believe that stating that they cannot remember will not be taken as a lie, they reply so to any questions. Japanese people see the apologies of such people as the “usual ceremony.”

*Hiragana Times CIA(Cynically Insulting Agency)

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