Hiyari hatto is the experience of a situation that could have led to an accident, or the discovery of such a situation.
Japanese guides to workplace safety explain it together with Heinrich’s law. Behind one serious accident lie 29 minor accidents, and behind those lie 300 irregularities.
In July 1995, Daiwa Bank learned that a trader in New York had lost 1.1 billion dollars in unauthorized trading over 11 years. The United States authorities were told only on September 18. Japan’s Ministry of Finance had also kept them uninformed.
United States regulators then gave Daiwa 90 days to close or dispose of its operations in the United States.
In 2007, the restaurant Senba Kitchō was found to have sold products past their expiry dates, falsely labeled the origin of ingredients, and reused dishes that guests had left untouched. On December 10, 2007, it held a press conference to apologize. The conference became known as the press conference of the “whispering proprietress.”
The next year, Senba Kitchō filed for bankruptcy, and its history as a restaurant ended.
When a train runs late, Japanese railway companies issue a chien shōmeisho, an official delay certificate. Japanese companies and schools often require one to excuse lateness.
JR East issues them at stations and online. In September 2012, it extended the period covered by online certificates from 7:00 to 9:00 in the morning to 7:00 to 11:00.
On January 15, 2024, an outside doctor told Kobayashi Pharmaceutical that people who had taken its supplements containing red yeast rice, beni kōji, were suspected of suffering health damage. The company began a voluntary recall about two months later and made the damage public on March 22.
The governing party Komeito called the two-month delay deeply regrettable. Clear deadlines for reporting such cases, set by severity, were then planned.
A renrakuchō is a notebook that links a nursery and a family. Both the teacher and the parents write in it. For children up to the age of two, the exchange often takes place every day.
It carries important information, such as a change in the child’s health or in pickup time. It also tells the parents about the child’s day at the nursery, and the teacher about the child’s time at home.
Jizen hōkoku (事前報告): a report to the people concerned before something happens.
Jigo hōkoku (事後報告): a report of the result after something is finished. A Japanese business magazine notes that a report after the fact is often acceptable, but that a report in advance is safer when a deal changes or needs confirmation.
Hōrensō means spinach. It is also made of the first syllables of three workplace words: hōkoku (report), renraku (inform) and sōdan (consult).
Around 1982, Yamazaki Tomiji, president of Yamatane Securities, started a “spinach campaign” in his company. His book on it, Hōrensō ga kaisha o tsuyoku suru (Spinach Makes a Company Strong), appeared in 1986. One account says the idea came from his father.
On a Toyota assembly line, a worker who notices a problem activates the andon and calls a supervisor. If the problem can be fixed on the spot, the line keeps running. If not, the line stops at a set position.
The system rests on three conditions. A worker can call. When someone calls, a person always comes. The person who called is not blamed.
In 2000, it became known that Mitsubishi Motors had hidden defect reports from customers and repaired vehicles in secret.
On January 10, 2002, a wheel came off a Mitsubishi truck in Yokohama and struck a mother and her two children. The mother, 29, died. The company blamed poor maintenance. In March 2004, it withdrew that explanation and announced a recall. In April 2004, police arrested seven former top executives of Mitsubishi Motors and Mitsubishi Fuso.