P.M. BRIEFING : Bottle Thrown at Steel Chairman
A Japanese shareholder threw an empty whiskey bottle at the chairman of Nippon Steel during the company’s annual stockholders meeting today, Japanese media reported.
Police and Nippon Steel officials declined to comment on the reports, which said the 49-year-old man was arrested for disorderly conduct after throwing the bottle at the boss of the country’s largest steel company.
More than 1,500 Japanese companies held their annual meetings today, scheduling them for the same day to discourage sokaiya, extortionists who threaten to disrupt shareholder meetings unless they are paid off.
Japan’s National Police Agency estimates that there are more than 1,300 sokaiya. It said 5,000 police were assigned to attend meetings to minimize the threat of sokaiya, some of whom have links to organized crime.
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
