Michinoku Bank - Points of Interest

Points of Interest

Kappei Ina, a local radio talk show host, allegedly claimed that when customers withdrew money at Michinoku automatic teller machines (ATMs), the display did not display the honorific suffix “-sama” that is often used with a company’s customers. However, the ATMs used this suffix when customers deposited money. Ina speculated that the reason for this was that those customers that deposited money into the bank were true customers, while those who withdrew money were not customers. One week after this was aired, the Michinoku ATMs displayed the honorific “-sama” suffix.

Michinoku Bank was the bank that was used in the “Anita Scandal.” This scandal involved a Japanese businessman for the Aomori Prefectural Public Housing Corporation who was arrested for funneling funds in excess of 13 million US dollars to his Chilean wife, Anita Alvadoro. Some of this money was used to build a lavish house in Chile.

In April 2005, Michinoku came under fire for losing information over an estimated 1.3 million customers. This prompted a response from the Japanese Financial Services Agency that Michinoku reform its business practices. In May, the company’s long serving president, Kosaburo Daidōji, left the company. Daidōji died on July 21, 2005 at the age of 80.