Nikkei workers overcharged advertisers tens of millions of yen
Newspaper publisher Nikkei said its sales employees had overcharged two companies for advertising fees by inflating circulation numbers for an advertising booklet and fraudulently received several tens of millions of yen from each firm.
Nikkei, a prominent newspaper publisher, admitted that its sales employees had deceived two companies by overcharging them for advertising fees. The fraudulent practice involved inflating circulation numbers for The Nikkei Magazine, an advertising booklet distributed in the Tokyo metropolitan area and the Kansai region between 2022 and 2026.
The misconduct affected 29 issues of the booklet, each time overstating circulation figures by between 15,000 and 250,000 copies. This inflated circulation led the employees to charge advertising fees accordingly, eventually reaching around 2.5 million copies over the four-year period. The employees were found to have presented outdated or incorrect circulation data to the advertisers while distributing the booklet outside the designated areas.
The issue came to light after the advertisers raised concerns. Nikkei commissioned an external attorney to investigate the matter and determine if there was any organizational involvement. The publisher expressed concern over the trust of their advertisers and readers, stating that they would take measures to prevent any recurrence and regain the trust of their stakeholders.
Written by urgent.news from Japan Times's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
