Miki Watanabe
Miki Watanabe | |
---|---|
渡邉 美樹 | |
![]() Watanabe in 2011 | |
House of Councilors | |
In office July 29, 2013 – July 28, 2019 | |
Personal details | |
Born | Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan | October 5, 1959
Website | www |
Miki Watanabe GCM (渡邉 美樹, Watanabe Miki, born October 5, 1959) is a Japanese entrepreneur and politician. He founded the Watami chain of izakaya restaurants and headed the company until 2011, when he resigned to run in the 2011 Tokyo gubernatorial election. Watanabe's run for the governorship of Tokyo was inspired by Michael Bloomberg's mayorship of New York City.[1] Watanabe came in third with 16.8%, losing to incumbent governor Shintaro Ishihara.
Career
Watanabe got opportunities to appear as a commentator on NHK General TV, NHK Educational TV, Nippon TV and Tokyo Broadcasting TV , raised his name recognition, and was elected to the House of Councillors representing the Liberal Democratic Party in the 2013 election. NHK had published his book from the affiliated publisher "NHK Publishing".[2] As of January 2014, he was the wealthiest member of the House of Councillors with reported personal assets of 1.76 billion yen.[3] He is a member of the Committee on Economy and Industry, Committee on Oversight of Administration, Special Committee on Reconstruction after the Great East Japan earthquake, and Research Committee on Deflation-Ending Measures and Strengthening Public Finance for Nationals' Life.[4]
Philanthropy
Watanabe founded the School Aid Japan charity in 2001 to build schools and orphanages in Cambodia and Nepal.[5] In Japan, Watanabe purchased an educational corporation which had been in financial difficulties due to the advice of Hirofumi Shimomura, a member of the House of Representatives and one of Shinzo Abe's aides.
Watanabe is a billboard of Seminar companies of LGAT with Ikujiro Nonaka, Jitsuro Terashima and others.[6] Watanabe is giving opportunities of the high school lecture he owns to the presidents of LGAT.[7][8]
Controversy
The Watami group has faced criticism as a "black company" for its harsh treatment of employees,[9] and was voted the worst company in Japan to work for in 2012 and 2013.[10] The 2008 suicide of Mina Mori, a Watami employee who had worked 140 hours of overtime was ruled a case of karōshi (death from overwork) by the Kanagawa Prefecture Labor Standards Office, who also accused the company of numerous labor law violations.[11] In December 2015 Watami reached an out-of-court settlement of ¥130 million (equivalent to ¥132.52 million in 2019) with the family and Watanabe apologised.[12] In addition, at the nursing home operated by Watanabe, due to carelessness of employees caused by their harsh labor, multiple death accidents occurred.[13]
In 2012, Japanese-language magazine Area reported that Watanabe made a female staffer of its educational corporation his mistress, like "a sexual tool", and abandoned her like garbage with only a notification of mobile e-mail.[14] The educational corporate officer who sympathized with her was fired.[14]
References
T
he founder of Watami Inc., oper
ator of a chain of 'izakayas,'
or casual pubs, Mr. Watanabe is
running in the Tokyo gubernato
rial election April 10, attempt
ing to make the jump from busin
ess manager to big-time politic
ian. That might be a rare move
in Japan, but it echoes the lik
es of New York City Mayor Micha
el Bloomberg and South Korean P
resident Lee Myung-bak, the for
mer head of Hyundai Constructio
n, and the comparison is not lo
st on the slick 51-year-old bus
inessman.(二)^ 仕事学のすすめ 2010年6・7月 夢を実現するマネジメント, NHK Publishing. (三)^ "参院資産公開 平均3770万円". NHK. 6 January 2014. Archived from the original on 6 January 2014. Retrieved 6 January 2014.
資産が最も多かったの
は、自民党の渡邉美樹氏で17億580万円、次いで、日本維新の会の
藤巻健史氏が6億6870万円、自民党の木村義雄氏が1億2576
万円で、資産が1億円を超えているのは5人でした。(四)^ "Mr. WATANABE Miki". House of Councillors. Retrieved 6 February 2014. (五)^ "48 Asian Altruists: Miki Watanabe". Forbes.com. Retrieved 6 January 2014. (六)^ 日本創造教育研究所 Home Page, 日本創造教育研究所, 新春経営者セミナー (七)^ 郁文館中学校, 中学受験スタディ. (八)^ 夢達人ライブ 青木仁志氏﹁できる﹂自分のつくり方, 郁文館夢学園. (九)^ Schreiber, Mark (2013-07-13). "'Black' business tales cast shadow on candidate". The Japan Times Online. ISSN 0447-5763. Retrieved 2019-02-13. (十)^ "'Black Corporation' Award winner for worst working conditions will run in summer election on LDP ticket". Japan Press Weekly - - japan-press.co.jp. June 5, 2013. Retrieved 2019-02-13. (11)^ Brasor, Philip (17 June 2012). "Watami under scrutiny after karōshi". Japan Times. ISSN 0447-5763. OCLC 21225620. Archived from the original on 4 June 2023. Retrieved 16 February 2024.
On Feb. 14, the Kanagawa Prefec
ture Labor Standards Office dee
med the death of 26-year-old Mi
na Mori, who committed suicide
on June 12, 2008, to be a case
of karōshi, or "death from over
work."(12)^ Jiji, Kyodo (9 December 2015). "Pub chain Watami, founder settle suit over suicide of overworked staffer". Japan Times. ISSN 0447-5763. OCLC 21225620. Archived from the original on 11 December 2015. Retrieved 16 February 2024.
The defendants, incl
uding the company and its found
er, Upper House lawmaker Miki W
atanabe, agreed on Tuesday to p
ay around ¥130 million in damag
es, said Kazunari Tamaki, a law
yer for the woman's parents.(13)^ <入浴中に死亡>﹁ワタミの介護﹂でまたも入浴中事故で死者が! [<Death while taking a bath> Another person dies due to an accident while taking a bath while taking care of Watami!]. Care Management On-Line News (in Japanese). 9 July 2013. Archived from the original on 16 February 2024. Retrieved 16 February 2024. (14)^ abワタミ会長 渡邉美樹氏 禁断の﹁不倫﹂騒動 [Watami Chairman Miki Watanabe's Forbidden "Affair" Controversy]. AERA. 16 February 2011. ISSN 0991-8833. OCLC 1052629196. Archived from the original on 30 January 2018. 本誌は、その理由について重大な証言を入手した。石田氏から直接、事情を聴いたという学校関係者がこう語るのだ。[...]﹁実は昨秋から、石田さんは学内のある女性から悩みを打ち明けられていたのです。渡邉理事長と数年にわたって交際してきたのに、﹃君の中には自分が求めるものがなかった﹄と、たった一通のメールでフラれたという話でした。自分は単なる"性の道具"だったのかと、彼女は激高していたそうですよ。学校と取引のあったK氏という人物も、同じ女性の相談に乗っていた。それでK氏が義憤を感じ、石田さんに﹃教育現場にあるまじき行為だ。常務理事として正すべきでは﹄と進言していたのです﹂ [Barron's has obtained important testimony as to why. A school official who heard directly from Mr. Ishida said the following. [...] "Actually, since last fall, Ishida-san had been confiding in her concerns with a woman on campus. Even though she had been dating President Watanabe for several years, she said, 'I didn't find what I was looking for in you.' It was said that she was dumped after just one e-mail. She was furious, thinking that she was just a "sex tool". [...] There was also a person named Mr. K, who had business dealings with the school. Mr. K felt a sense of righteous indignation and advised Mr. Ishida, 'This behavior is unbelievable in the educational field. As the executive director, you should correct this.'"]
External links
- Official website (in Japanese)