It is the 11th of September 1945. A cottage in the suburbs of Tokyo. Tojo Hideki puts on his round tortoiseshell glasses and runs his hand over his bald head. The war general and ex-prime minister of Japan can feel his fate being decided at this very moment. Japan has already seen the detonation of two atomic bombs a few months ago and defeat seems imminent after the surrender. As the US soldiers reached his house, they were stalled by one of Tojo’s servants. After waiting long enough, they decide to enter the house only to hear a gunshot from inside the house. Tojo had tried to end it with a bullet in his stomach.
In Japanese, it is called the act of Hara kiri. When one hears these words, the images that are conjured up are too graphic and gory for an outsider to consider. Why would a man choose suicide over life? In its true meaning, the act is supposed to codify the principles of duty, honour and shame all into one. A man is supposed to give his all in the sense of duty and honour that comes with the position he holds. If he is not able to defend his honour and follow through on his duty, it is a respectable act for him to avoid the shame of getting captured and to end his life.
But what about someone carrying out a corporate suicide? A deliberate move being made where loyalty, responsibility, duty and shame are put to one side for the mighty rupee and plain old greed. Something along those lines has allegedly been unearthed recently.
Last week, the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) filed a complaint at the Sindh Courts claiming that an employee at Pak Suzuki had used his position at the company to make illicit gains and take advantage of the information that he had. The content in this publication is expensive to produce. But unlike other journalistic outfits, business publications have to cover the very organizations that directly give them advertisements. Hence, this large source of revenue, which is the lifeblood of other media houses, is severely compromised on account of Profit’s no-compromise policy when it comes to our reporting. No wonder, Profit has lost multiple ad deals, worth tens of millions of rupees, due to stories that held big businesses to account. Hence, for our work to continue unfettered, it must be supported by discerning readers who know the value of quality business journalism, not just for the economy but for the society as a whole.To read the full article, subscribe and support independent business journalism in Pakistan
