Japan's Financial Services Agency is preparing to conduct an on-site inspection of Sony Financial Group, the parent of Sony Life Insurance, over a money scandal at the insurer, according to reporting by Bunshun Online.
At Sony Life, a sales employee borrowed about ¥2.6 billion from customers and colleagues between 2015 and 2022, and more than half of that sum was never repaid. The company learned of the misconduct in 2023 and dismissed the employee, but disclosed no details, describing the borrowing as personal.
Other misconduct cases involving different employees have since come to light. The agency takes issue with how the insurer has supervised its staff, a Financial Services Agency official said.
The agency is also examining the responsibility of Sony Financial Group president Toshihide Endo, 67, a former commissioner of the Financial Services Agency. The situation places the regulator in the position of inspecting a company led by one of its former chiefs.
A former president blamed inside the company
Inside Sony Life, Tomoo Hagimoto, who served as president from 2015 to 2023, is seen as the person chiefly responsible. He was the insurer's first president to rise through its own ranks and was well known as a life planner, a staff role that advises customers on financial planning.
People around the company say his background on the sales side put heavy pressure on staff to win contracts. His influence persisted after he stepped down as president, according to a market source.
Life planners who look up to Hagimoto dominate the organization and are blocking fundamental reform, the market source said. Clearing out that group is among the agency's aims.