Thursday, February 07, 2008

Continued Intrigue in the JT Gyoza Scandal

The scrutiny I wanted Japan Tobacco to undergo following their poisonous gyoza screw-up has all but materialized.

News outlets reported Saturday that, just prior to the public announcement that tainted gyoza had been sold, JT's stock dropped dramatically due to a sudden leap in sell volume. This suspicious 8% drop in stock price has, in turn, sparked suspicions of insider trading among shareholders who knew bad news was about to be made public.

I really wish I could look at this revelation as good news, but there's a major problem: The Japanese government, whose job it is to investigate this kind of unsavory business, happens to own 50% of Japan Tobacco. Would it be silly of me to expect someone to do a criminal investigation of himself...and do it well?

Yes, I guess so.

So rather than the satisfaction I might have gotten from knowing that JT's corruption would be appropriately punished, I am left with an increased feeling of agitation when I hear nationalist knuckleheads badmouthing China for producing some gyoza that made a handful of people sick. If those people really feel their safety has been compromised, I cordially invite them to cut back on the gyoza and shut the hell up. Meanwhile, here we are standing around like fools waiting for our leaders to investigate themselves for criminal negligence and unethical business practices.

Man, are we stupid.

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