Photo/Illutration A sign points to the venue of the general meeting of Toshiba Corp. shareholders in Tokyo on June 25. (Asahi Shimbun file photo)

Nippon Kabushiki Gaisha (Japan Inc.) is a term that was used to poke fun at the close, often collusive relationship between government and industry.

In Japan, the government provided excessive guidance and protection to businesses, unlike in the United States and Europe.

That was the view of some foreign observers during the 1970s, when the Japanese economy was growing rapidly.

The Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI) was seen as the commander of Nippon Kabushiki Gaisha, a role that earned the now-defunct ministry the “notorious MITI” moniker.

Many believed that such public-private ties have become a thing of the past. But that does not seem to be the case, given the reverberations of revelations that the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI), the MITI reincarnated, allegedly worked with Toshiba Corp. to pressure Toshiba shareholders.

It started with a confrontation between Toshiba’s management and a foreign fund, the company’s largest shareholder, over the latter’s proposal to appoint new board members.

The management should have engaged in dialogue with the shareholder, but it turned to the METI for help.

Toshiba’s management apparently expected that the ministry would offer protection because of the company’s nuclear power and defense technologies, which are considered important for national security.

The ministry seems to have acted as Toshiba expected.

An investigative report compiled by lawyers selected by the shareholder cites the ministry’s idea about national security allegedly conveyed to Toshiba.

According to the report, the METI said large companies like Toshiba continuing stable operations and maintaining employment contributes to “national security in a broad sense” during the novel coronavirus crisis.

The scope of national security, if it is interpreted so liberally, can be expanded unlimitedly.

The METI has a responsibility to explain whether the report is accurate, but the ministry has only said it “has done what it should.”

In a rare rebuke, the management’s proposal to reappoint two outside directors was voted down at the general meeting of Toshiba shareholders on June 25.

The term “economic national security” has become a powerful mantra in the political and business communities.

Still, it is a mistake if Toshiba executives and METI bureaucrats believe that everything is permitted if national security is invoked.

--The Asahi Shimbun, June 27

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Vox Populi, Vox Dei is a popular daily column that takes up a wide range of topics, including culture, arts and social trends and developments. Written by veteran Asahi Shimbun writers, the column provides useful perspectives on and insights into contemporary Japan and its culture.

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