TOKYO (TR) – The owner of major taxi and limousine operator Tokyo MK has been accused of subjecting employees to extreme workplace harassment, including hurling chairs and screaming profanities at drivers for failing an impromptu English quiz, reports News Post Seven (Sep. 12).
On September 2, the company held a press conference to issue a public apology for the behavior of 62-year-old owner Masaaki Aoki. Kyomi Matsubara, the company’s CEO and Aoki’s older sister, apologized for the “great concern and trouble” caused by her brother, stating he would be banned from the company’s offices.
However, employees say the harassment has been a daily nightmare.
The scandal centers on an August 13 incident at the company’s Shiodome office in Tokyo. During a morning assembly, Aoki, who strictly pushes English-language education for his drivers, demanded to know the English word for “intersection.”
When no one could answer, Aoki erupted in a violent rage, throwing chairs and screaming, “Fuck!” and “Go home!” at terrified staff.
“Rebellious attitude”
While CEO Matsubara claimed the incident occurred because employees took a “rebellious attitude” during her absence, current employees vehemently dispute this framing.
“The issue isn’t our English proficiency or education system,” one current employee said. “The core issue is the owner’s volatile temper and the upper management who have tolerated it for years. Nobody was being rebellious; we were just terrified.”
According to insiders, Aoki’s violent outbursts are nothing new. In 2017, he was forced to step down as a company executive and was temporarily banned from the office following a physical assault scandal. However, he eventually returned.
“He comes in on a whim just to scream at us,” another employee revealed. “He doesn’t physically strike us anymore, but he throws things — bending PC monitors is a daily occurrence. ‘Fuck’ is his favorite word. We’ve all become immune to the F-bombs.”
Employees described a tyrannical environment where avoiding Aoki’s wrath is impossible. “If you give him a polite smile, he yells, ‘What the hell are you smiling at?’ If you look down and stay silent, he still snaps. We just freeze in fear,” one driver said.
“Verbal abuse”
The harassment didn’t end with the August 13 assembly. Days later, Aoki reportedly summoned all drivers over the age of 50 for a mandatory two-hour meeting.
“It was essentially a one-man show of verbal abuse,” a company insider said. “He screamed, ‘You’re all fucking losers! Quit!’ Some drivers even had to cancel passenger reservations just to attend his rant.”
Even Aoki’s sister appears helpless to stop the sole shareholder. A week after the explosive chair-throwing incident, CEO Matsubara sent a desperate company-wide email begging employees to study.
“Please do your best with your English!” the email read. “Memorize lessons 1 through 10 perfectly! If you do that, the owner will stop coming! The owner will stop getting angry! Everyone, please make an effort!”
“Fully cooperate”
Because Aoki holds 100 percent of the company’s shares, nobody has been able to challenge him. Matsubara indicated during the press conference that she hopes to sever ties and have him removed as a shareholder, noting she only remains CEO to prevent someone worse from taking over.
Tokyo MK’s management division declined to comment on specific allegations, stating that an independent external lawyer is currently investigating the facts and the root causes of the harassment.
“We will fully cooperate with the external investigation and take necessary corrective measures and preventive steps based on the results,” the company said.
