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Mailing List Logs for ShadowRN

Message no. 1
From: rabiola <rabiola@**.NETCOM.COM>
Subject: Plot idea
Date: Mon, 24 Aug 1998 01:51:30 -0500
Read this in the local paper, and thought it might have some game
applications:

Two Accused of Extorting from Airline
Tokoyo (AP) Japanese police arrested two men Monday on suspicion of
extorting $155,000 form Japan Airlines Co.
Hitoshi Ogasawara, 51, and Mamoru Arai, 53, are accused of extortion
in return for ensuring trouble-free shareholders meetings for the
airline, according to police. Ogasawara and Arai are known as
'sokaiya'.
Sokaiya are a unique feature of the corporate Japanese landscape.
They blackmail executives by threatenig to reveal embarrassing corporate
secrets to shareholders or are hired by companies to silence hostile
shareholders.
JAL President Isao Kaneko said the payments were part of a business
contract. "What happened, however, was very regrettable from the
corporate ethics point of view," Kaneko said at a press conference.

Tony Rabiola rabiola@**.netcom.com
Fourth and Sixth World Adept
Still working on the Fifth...
Message no. 2
From: Erik Jameson <erikj@****.COM>
Subject: Re: Plot idea
Date: Mon, 24 Aug 1998 16:22:32 -0400
At 01:51 AM 8/24/98 -0500, you wrote:
>Read this in the local paper, and thought it might have some game
>applications:
>
>Two Accused of Extorting from Airline
>Tokoyo (AP) Japanese police arrested two men Monday on suspicion of
>extorting $155,000 form Japan Airlines Co.
> Hitoshi Ogasawara, 51, and Mamoru Arai, 53, are accused of extortion
>in return for ensuring trouble-free shareholders meetings for the
>airline, according to police. Ogasawara and Arai are known as
>'sokaiya'.

I believe this is actually covered in Underworld, with the whole Yakuza
write-up.

And only $155K? That's pathetic. I've read in the papers, over the last
year or so, of incidents involving many times that amount; unless I'm
mistaken, a part of the Japanese financial problem right now is at least
peripherally involved with this sokaiya folks. Not the main part to be
certain, but a number of banks and corporations have been shamed recently
when this sort of activity had come to light.

My only real suprise is that I have never heard of this sort of thing in
the Western world. It may occur, I've just never heard of it, and it
doesn't appear to be as "normal" a part of business here as opposed to Japan.

Erik J.
Message no. 3
From: bryan.covington@****.COM
Subject: Re: Plot idea
Date: Tue, 25 Aug 1998 08:41:13 -0400
> >Read this in the local paper, and thought it might have some game
> >applications:
> >
> >Two Accused of Extorting from Airline
> >Tokoyo (AP) Japanese police arrested two men Monday on suspicion of
> >extorting $155,000 form Japan Airlines Co.
> > Hitoshi Ogasawara, 51, and Mamoru Arai, 53, are accused of
> extortion
> >in return for ensuring trouble-free shareholders meetings for the
> >airline, according to police. Ogasawara and Arai are known as
> >'sokaiya'.
>
> I believe this is actually covered in Underworld, with the whole
> Yakuza
> write-up.
>
> And only $155K? That's pathetic. I've read in the papers, over the
> last
> year or so, of incidents involving many times that amount; unless I'm
> mistaken, a part of the Japanese financial problem right now is at
> least
> peripherally involved with this sokaiya folks. Not the main part to
> be
> certain, but a number of banks and corporations have been shamed
> recently
> when this sort of activity had come to light.

It is kinda weak isn't it. Maybe they were new at it,
they did get caught after all.

> My only real suprise is that I have never heard of this sort of thing
> in
> the Western world. It may occur, I've just never heard of it, and it
> doesn't appear to be as "normal" a part of business here as opposed to
> Japan.
>
Well you also have to consider the difference in
mindset. We westerners don't have the concept of "face". We get
embarrassed but not to the degree that Asian cultures do. Consider what
they might have been holding over the CEO's head, chances are it
wouldn't be as big a deal here. Someone like Gates or Grove would just
laugh at a blackmail attempt.

"Go ahead, if the media even believes you enough to pick
it up I'll just deny it. Piss off."

Further Reading

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Thwap!