Japanese Companies Need to Take a More Serious Look at Corruption & Bribery Compliance
Companies looking to invest in their efforts on combating corruption and bribery should do so sooner rather then later. Many countries are adopting forms of anti-corruption legislation that resemble the FCPA and UK Bribery Act. What this means is the level of sophistication is being established, as countries are seeing how much of an issue it is really playing in their territories. Corruption and bribery disrupts free trade and this ultimately hurts the internal economic structure of any country. So the question remains, how do companies fight corruption and how can they be effective internally as well externally? They have to remember, although they may not see issues of corruption internally, as an organization, they need to focus their attention on what is happening abroad on their behalf. Japanese companies can be seen as a perfect example of this, as they have been subject to several investigations that have lead to very big fines.
Japan is one of the world’s largest economies, (4th) one of the worlds most advanced players in trade and in global export according to Makiko Kawamura of the Asian Review. As being such a large presence in the world economy, Japanese companies are being seen as not taking bribery and corruption compliance very seriously. What this means moving forward for Japanese companies is the added pressure to have standards in place in dealing with corruption and bribery and have these standards be effective in their external dealings as well.
This increase in bribery charges to Japanese companies has typically involved countries where their economic development is still growing. This would make sense as governments, in the hopes of bringing in outside business, are trying to evolve their economies.
“Given the risks and costs associated with being subject to regulatory investigations and enforcement actions, Japanese companies are becoming more proactive in providing staff with compliance training.”
Ultimately, the end goal is becoming more compliant on issues such as corruption and bribery. As mentioned before, they are trying to increase their level of awareness by introducing trainings for employees that work with private and public sector decision makers. But is this enough? Is it enough to have an internal mechanism that identifies corruption and bribery within the organization? For many, the answer is no, and here is why; in most cases, the issue of corruption lays on those who do business on their behalf which means that agents, who reside on the country of interest are the ones conducting business transactions. Although they are external business partners, they still carry the same weight in representation as the original company. Here lays your risk and here is where the issue needs to be addressed. To learn more on how to address these external points of vulnerability, click here and to learn more about creating effective plans on fighting these issues, click here
