A Japanese bank’s labor policy requires people to sign a “suicide” pact with their own blood for theft

TW: Mention of suicide

The Japanese bank Shikoku obliged its employees to take the Seppuku oath in case of fraud. Seppuku is a Japanese ritual of taking life. The pledge was transferred to the Bank of Shikoku from its predecessor, the 37th National, from 1878, several years after the country discontinued the official practice. The bank forced 23 employees to sign a pledge sealed with their own blood. According to the bank’s contract, everyone employed there was to pay from their own property for committing theft or inciting others to commit burglaries. Eventually they will have to commit seppuku because of the crime.

The Japanese bank Shikoku has undertaken to commit seppuku in the event of fraud…

“Any employee of this bank who stole money… will pay for it with his own fortune and then commit suicide.” pic.twitter.com/JgyiR7nm2D
— Geiger Capital (@Geiger_Capital) November 25, 2024

Holy smoke, it’s true

Shikoku Bank was previously No. 37 National Bank 第三十七国立銀行, which caused all 23 employees to sign in their own blood that they would commit Seppuku in case of mismanagement or theft of funds pic.twitter.com/bwCCcxPW8K
— Eric ゑリｯ久 (@shinobu_books) November 25, 2024

The Japanese bank Shikoku bank (state 8387) has pledged to commit seppuku if fraud is detected, and employees will have to personally repay the amount. Maybe the Tokyo Stock Exchange’s request to improve corporate governance was a bit too stringent

— Golf (@Slowlearnerr) November 24, 2024

This seppuku obligation was passed on to the Shikoku Bank from its predecessor, the 37th National Bank from 1878. I’m sure they take this very seriously, and many Japanese bankers have committed suicide over the years over mistakes far less heinous than simple theft.
— tbone (@tbonecapital) November 24, 2024

Seppuku was traditionally practiced by samurai who committed suicide by cutting their stomach, which is also known as Hara-Kiri. Ritual suicide was also sometimes attributed to disgraced warriors who preferred Sepukku to execution. Samurai wives also practiced this as part of honor suicides. Another form of seppuku is voluntary drowning. The tradition of judicial punishment was abandoned in the country in 1873, but this did not stop voluntary seppuku. The latest case is Japanese judo champion and Olympic gold medalist (1964), Isao Inukoma, who lost his life to seppuku in 2001, allegedly going bankrupt.

See also: What is “silent quitting”? Why are big companies worried about this bizarre phenomenon?

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