Fired for stealing
The Imperial Palace fired an employee for stealing a total of 3.6 million yen over more than a year from Emperor Naruhito and his family. The suspect is identified as an employee in his 20’s, who was one of about 80 attendants assigned to the palace or the Imperial Agency building. Officials said this has been unheard of in modern history. It is an embarrassment for the royal household.
The situation surfaced in March during an internal investigation when a discrepancy was notice between cash in the safe and the accounting book. When a loss of 30,000 yen was detected in late March, the suspect was asked about it. He admitted to stealing a total of 3,600,000 yen from November 2023 to late March 2025, because he had financial difficulties. The employee was dismissed and a criminal complaint was filed. The assistant manager, an employee in his 40’s, was punished with a one month pay cut for being lax in his accounting duties. The Imperial Household Agency chief Yauhiko Nishimura said the theft was “extremely regrettable”.
I think it is very sad that the young person, who was a trusted employee, stole money, not once but several times over the course of almost a year and a half. Now the former employee is in the criminal system, with an unknown future. What “financial difficulties” would make someone do this?
The missing money was part of the 324 million yen annual budget allocated as living expenses for the emperor and empress, their daughter Princess Aiko and the emperor’s parents.
5 comments:
Oh my gosh Pamela: What is wrong with people, I could not even think of taking a penny I would feel so guilty.
Catherine
Maybe gambling debts? There have been a couple of cases here of people stealing hundreds of thousands from their employers where they lost it all gambling.
There are so many financial traps in today's society, especially online traps. With a simple tap on the smartphone's screen, you can borrow money, gamble, agree to a payment plan, book something that cannot be cancelled... It is so easy to overlook the 'conditions', and you are stuck in a trap. You need money to repay, or the gangsters will hunt you down. What to do? Pilfer money here and there? 30,000 yen now and then will eventually build up to 3.6 million. What is that to someone who's got an annual budget of 324 million? the thief may justify his actions.
The next thing to consider is how morality has eroded. Pamela, have you also noticed that 'shame' is no longer a big thing in Japan like it used to be in the past? Twenty years ago, 'shame' was a brake, it stopped you from doing stupid things because you were worried about what others would say. A person in his/her 20s does not seem to worry about the consequences of their actions. So the moral brakes that would prevent you from stealing are no longer there.
Both of these changes in society, I mentioned, might be the answer to why this theft was committed.
Very sad to read and for some reason surprises me that a Japanese person would do this.
It's sad but also incredible something like this didn't get noticed for a year and a half.
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