Starting 'Risk Column Nakai' @ #15 Reading a Living Textbook

My name is Nakai. As a risk columnist, I am starting to write articles mainly about troubles and scandals (though I also hope to digress significantly and write about Korean dramas and cats). First, a brief self-introduction. I look forward to your support.

<1> The Origin: 'A Company Disappears'

I began a concurrent report titled 'A Company Disappears' in the autumn of 1997, when I was a reporter for the social news desk. Yamaichi Securities was forced into voluntary liquidation due to the accumulation of massive off-balance-sheet debts. At the press conference, the president wept and apologized, saying, 'We are the ones at fault, not the employees.'

We formed a reporting team and interviewed employees and their families. We, the reporters, are also company employees. I continued the work of summarizing our findings into articles while empathizing with them, and publishing them in the morning edition until the following year.

I have the book that compiled the series at hand. It is full of unforgettable scenes. A 44-year-old wife brushed back her long hair to show me her scalp, which was suffering from alopecia areata. There was a department manager who was reproached by his family, saying, 'It's because the employees are sloppy.' One accountant died suddenly after being driven to the brink by the tasks associated with the company's closure. After the wake, a fellow reporter was told by the deceased's father-in-law, 'Your work must be tough too, but don't die. If you die, there's nothing you can do.' I included that scene of his grateful consideration in my manuscript.

There are many companies that disappear because a trouble becomes a fatal wound. The victims are the employees and their families. How can we prevent such unfortunate failures? This series project was the starting point for me to begin thinking about such things.

<2> The 2000s: 'The Era of Compliance'

The era of compliance arrived in the 2000s. There is data to support this. When I was at the newspaper company, I searched for the word 'compliance' in the database; it first appeared in the paper in 1987, and in the 90s, there were only about seven mentions per year. From 2000, the usage frequency reached double digits annually, and after 2004, when the Whistleblower Protection Act was enacted and the concealment of defects by automakers became a social issue, it exceeded 100 mentions per year, appearing in articles in a doubling fashion. (Refer to marginal note ①)

That year, 1997, was a year when major supermarkets and banks also went bankrupt one after another. While summarizing articles in the chaotic editorial department, I felt a persistent sense of seasickness, wondering, 'What is going to happen to Japan?'

Looking back, I think the era of compliance arrived as a lesson from the subsequent collapse of major companies, and companies began to brace themselves, starting with the idea of properly obeying the law. I feel that what we covered nearly 30 years ago were people being struck by the pain on the eve of the compliance era.

<3> Walking the Labyrinth of Legal Compliance

In 2004, which I mentioned in the database search, I was assigned to be a public relations representative for the company, although it was not something I had requested. After that, while moving back and forth between the editorial department, I held positions in the legal department and the internal audit office. I also entered deeply into the labyrinth of legal compliance that was rapidly spreading through society.

For example, a public relations representative is in a position to be subjected to severe questioning by reporters from weekly magazines and television stations. Since my field as a social news reporter was originally incidents and trials, and I had covered a considerable number of corporate scandals in the 1990s, I came to know the field from both the offensive and defensive sides.

What can be said, what cannot be said, what must be said, and what must not be said. I would organize information into those four categories in my head and handle media inquiries alone. There were no scandals that caused the company to disappear, but stress did accumulate, and I experienced nights where I woke up from grinding my teeth.

I think of the work in legal and internal audit as a sanctuary or advisor within the company, but from the outside, it might look like a position that only lectures others. I think it was fortunate for me to have spent the end of my career on the front lines of an affiliated building management company. For eight years, I faced the reality that you cannot make a living just by lecturing.

<4> 'Manual Dilemma' and 'Dungeon Map'

People who do risk management acquire caution. Perhaps because of my innate timidity, I always assume the worst-case scenario. In every workplace, I would trumpet, 'I have strong luck, so it's fine. Everyone, rest assured,' but as I wrote earlier, I ended up spending many nights worrying and unable to sleep.

As such a worn-out old man, I thought about whether I could do something by writing to eliminate tragedies where companies suddenly disappear. Especially now, I feel that the institutional fatigue of a compliance-oriented society is hidden in the background of the fact that troubles and scandals do not stop even in famous companies and huge organizations (Refer to marginal note ②). First, I would like to see if we can break through the 'manual dilemma' where complex and bizarre risk management and compliance theories do not easily permeate the front lines. I aim to create an easy-to-understand risk column that acts like a 'dungeon map' for walking safely through the forest of risks and the maze of compliance. I would be especially happy if young people read it.

Since it is a text written by a rough practitioner, there may be opinions that it is logically incorrect or difficult to understand. Please point them out, including counterarguments. I would also like to hear the experiences of everyone who has gone through similar hardships. I dream of incorporating a lot of practical wisdom to create a better labyrinth map.

First of all, thank you very much for reading this far. I will do my best again. <End>

[Marginal Note ①] There is a similar analysis. According to an article by Professor Masaaki Ito of Seikei University in the morning edition of the Nikkei Shimbun on March 14, 2025, compliance-related articles searched in the Yomiuri Shimbun article database surged between 2001 and 2007, and have been decreasing toward 2010 as the concept has become generally widespread.

[Marginal Note ②] If you search for information on corporate scandals, you can find the website of FCG Research Institute, Inc., which is owned by Fuji Media Holdings and The Sankei Shimbun (Fujisankei Crisis Management Laboratory). There, cases are summarized by year as a 'List of Corporate Incidents and Scandals.' https://www.fcg-r.co.jp/research/incident.html

*Although I posted this on January 5, 2026, I accidentally deleted it on February 1, so I have restored the article. A table of contents has also been added.