Shingari

In November 1997, Yamaichi Securities, one of Japan’s four largest brokerages, announced that it would voluntarily close down. Even its top brass had not been apprised of an approximate 260 billion yen of debt that was off the books until just before it happened. Off-the-books debt is against the law. Yamaichi Securities was too big and without financial strength as well as bank support, the Finance Ministry deemed that it would not file for bankruptcy protection, but seek the brokerage’s “voluntary closure” instead. When and how did 260 billion yen of losses off the balance sheet come about, and how was it kept hidden? While even the board of directors were bailing out of the sunken ship, there were employees who stayed on in the company until the end and continued to seek the truth as well as pay off customers. Called “outliers” within the company, they were people from departments that were considered a burden. These people were the rearguard.