On November 24, 1997, the president of Yamaichi Securities, Nozawa Shōhei, faced reporters at the Tokyo Stock Exchange as the firm announced it would close. In tears, he apologized and said: Shain wa waruku arimasen kara! The employees are not to blame!
Accounts of his exact words differ. Another version has him say: “We are the ones at fault, so the employees are not to blame.”