Following is the gist of remarks made by Mr. Hiroshi Okuda, Chairman of Nippon Keidanren, at a scheduled press conference following monthly Chairman and Vice Chairmen's meeting on 9 September 2002. Translation is rush and tentative, and sequence of the gist does not necessarily coincide with words delivered.
(Concerning series of corporate misconducts)
Tokyo Electric Power Co. (Mr. Gaishi Hiraiwa, Mr. Sho Nasu, and Mr. Hiroshi Araki) and Mitsui & Co. (Mr. Shigeji Ueshima) submitted resignations from their Nippon Keidanren official posts, and I accepted them today. Vacancy in Chairman of the Board of Councillors will be filled by Mr. Josei Itoh (Vice Chairman of the Board of Councillors) as a sit-in for the remainder of the fiscal year. I will fill the post of the Chairman of Committee on Corporate Behavior for the time being. Other vacant posts will remain so throughout remainder of the current fiscal year -- Nippon Keidanren's membership base is large enough to reduce effects of such vacancies.
Directly or indirectly, corporate misconducts are caused by, and responsibilities must be born by, each company's top executives. The wall of sympathy and trust of a company that took years to build could collapse in a minute if companies fail to adhere to strict standard of corporate ethics.
The schedule of revising Keidanren Charter on Good Corporate Behavior, due to be revised by end of 2002, will be moved up by about two months.
I believe that member companies of Nippon Keidanren are trustworthy enough so that they will redouble their efforts to tighten their grips on each company employees' corporate behavior. In my own case, of Toyota Motor Corporation, I am telling my staff to report on all negative incidents regardless of importance, without hesitation, and now my staff are tired of hearing my saying. So, I think the company is all right.