Big Motor, a major used car purchasing and selling company, was engaged in the act of deliberately damaging or exacerbating damages to the customers' automobiles to claim high repair charges from insurance companies. The company was founded in 1976 in Iwakuni City, Yamaguchi Prefecture. (The store name at that time was Kaneshige Auto Center. It was incorporated in 1978.) This series of scandals by Big Motor is also listed on Wikipedia as follows:
※ The photo is for illustrative purposes only and is unrelated to the text.
Issues of 'fines' to employees
Embezzlement of purchase money by employees
Implementation of illegal vehicle inspections and penalties by the transportation bureau
Fraudulent claims to insurance companies, deliberate damage to customer vehicles, and authoritarian punishments to employees
Hearing by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, inspections at Big Motor stores and factories
Price reduction demands to subcontracting companies, forced vehicle inspections
Non-payment of overtime and power harassment lawsuits by employees
Investigation of public interest reporter protection law and internal reporting system by the Consumer Affairs Agency
Herbicide spraying on street trees and felling, etc., due to environmental maintenance inspection
Source: Big Motor - Wikipedia
They demanded refunds from customers who sold their cars using the pretext of document deficiencies, forced vehicle inspections on subcontracting companies, non-payment of overtime, power harassment, and, in addition, inappropriate reprimands and demotions due to deficiencies in environmental maintenance inspections. It's all unbelievable to read. However, having said that, I also experienced power harassment and non-payment of overtime at work, so it's not unbelievable.
Did Big Motor, which caused such problems, have shareholder perks? Even if Big Motor was a company that implemented shareholder perks, the possibility of overcoming the current scandal without damage is high, and it would be difficult to continue the shareholder perks.
Upon investigation, Big Motor was a non-listed company. It's a corporation, so stocks exist, but it's not listed on the stock exchange. You can't trade Big Motor stocks on the stock exchange, and naturally, no shareholder perks were implemented. According to the Wikipedia article, as of July 2023, all stocks are held by a property management company called Big Asset Inc. Therefore, basically, there should be no investors who lost due to this scandal if they held Big Motor stocks, which is a good point. If Big Motor had been a listed company, there would have been a possibility that the stock would have plummeted due to this scandal, causing significant losses to many investors.
By the way, there are several non-listed companies even among large corporations. The merits of not listing stocks include:
No cost for listing.
High degree of management freedom.
Low risk of acquisition.
No obligation to submit securities reports.
Furthermore, many Big Motor shops were spraying herbicides on the road plantings for "environmental maintenance inspections." The herbicide said to have been used is Fumakiller's "Kadan Weed King Series Zassoji Ace," which is recognized as a "herbicide so powerful it even withers street trees," and is reportedly selling out. Fumakiller's stock price updated its year-to-date high in July. Fumakiller has been unexpectedly affected by this series of scandals. The Kadan Weed King Series Zassoji Ace is a glyphosate-based herbicide. Glyphosate is absorbed through the leaves and stems of plants to exhibit its effects. It is not absorbed from the roots of plants. Even if glyphosate-based herbicides are sprinkled on the leaves and stems of weeds just for weed removal, it does not affect street trees. Nonetheless, the plantings and street trees around Big Motor nationwide are all withered. This suggests that herbicides might have been sprayed with the intent to wither not only weeds but also street trees on the leaves of street trees. If so, it's an extremely malicious story.
ビッグモーター (Big Motor): A major used car purchasing and selling company in Japan, involved in a series of scandals as mentioned in the text.
株価 (Stock Price): The price of a share of stock of a company at any given time.
株主優待 (Shareholder Perks): Benefits given to shareholders, like discounts, gifts, or special deals, to incentivize stock ownership.
環境整備点検 (Environmental Maintenance Inspection): A measure or inspection carried out to ensure environmental safety and cleanliness.
除草剤 (Herbicide): Chemical substances used to control or kill unwanted plants.
故意 (Deliberate): Intentional actions carried out with a specific purpose.
修理料金 (Repair Charges): Costs incurred for fixing damaged items, in this case, automobiles.
保険会社 (Insurance Company): A business that provides coverage, in the form of compensation resulting from loss, damages, injury, treatment or hardship in exchange for premium payments.
中古車買い取り販売 (Used Car Purchasing and Selling): The business of buying and selling pre-owned vehicles.
山口県岩国市 (Iwakuni City, Yamaguchi Prefecture): A location in Japan where Big Motor was founded.
創業 (Founding): The establishment or starting up of a business.
法人化 (Incorporation): The process of legally declaring a corporate entity as separate from its owners.
不祥事 (Scandal): An action or event regarded as morally or legally wrong and causing public outrage.
罰金 (Fine): A monetary penalty imposed by a lawful authority as punishment for violations.
詐取 (Embezzlement): The act of withholding assets for the purpose of conversion (theft) of such assets.
不正車検 (Illegal Vehicle Inspection): Unlawful inspection of vehicles, often not adhering to the required standards set by authorities.
運輸局 (Transportation Bureau): Governmental body responsible for overseeing and regulating transportation systems.
処分 (Penalty): A punishment imposed for breaking a law, rule, or contract.
国土交通省 (Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism): A ministry of the Japanese government responsible for land, infrastructure, transport, and tourism.
立ち入り検査 (On-site Inspection): A detailed inspection carried out at a particular site or location.
下請け会社 (Subcontracting Company): A company contracted to perform work or provide services for another company.
車検強要 (Forced Vehicle Inspection): Forcing or coercing vehicle inspections, usually against one's will.
残業代未払い (Non-payment of Overtime): Failure to pay employees for overtime hours worked.
パワハラ (Power Harassment): Harassment by individuals in a position of power towards those in lower positions.
消費者庁 (Consumer Affairs Agency): An agency that deals with consumer issues and rights.
公益通報者保護法 (Public Interest Reporter Protection Law): A law aimed at protecting individuals who report actions detrimental to the public interest.
内部通報体制 (Internal Reporting System): A system within an organization for reporting any misconduct or unethical behavior.
街路樹 (Street Trees): Trees planted along the roadsides or in urban areas to improve the aesthetic appeal and sometimes to provide shade.
伐採 (Felling): The action of cutting down trees.
フマキラー (Fumakiller): A company or brand related to the herbicide mentioned in the text, possibly the manufacturer.
