Fujitsu’s silence is making a tech scandal worse

MANY in Japan were surprised to learn of the sudden surge of vitriol in the United Kingdom towards one of Tokyo’s corporate icons. Seemingly overnight, Fujitsu was UK public enemy No 1; in its home territory, few had ever heard of its faulty Horizon accounting software or a decades-long post office scandal.

One entity that shouldn’t be caught unaware, however, is Fujitsu itself. The firm has been conspicuously quiet since the ITV drama series Mr Bates vs the Post Office suddenly thrust the issue of dodgy software, built by a UK company it acquired in the 1990s, into the spotlight earlier this month. The faulty tech led to hundreds of post office branch managers being falsely prosecuted for theft. The company has issued statements supporting the ongoing public inquiry. Chief executive officer Takahito Tokita has yet to address the media.

Going silent is a typical playbook for Japanese companies when faced with bad news. It’s also a mistake.