| radishhead said: Iwata took a 50% pay cut recently and Nintendo isn't in "going bust" levels of trouble - I'm not sure if it is as big a deal for a Japanese CEO to take a significant pay cut as it might be for an American one |
More or less this, Japan is a completely different society than US and most European countries and the employees and CEO's actually have some personal vested interest and pride in their company and workplace in many cases. It is a lot more common is the West to employ leaders who are stern and efficient, first and foremost, but who often have little to no insight in the specifics of the company's production output and/or services, all about the bottom line.
Regarding government bailout's; Japan has seen a decrease of over 50% in export over the course of 7-8 years... the government has stepped in several times to prevent behemoths from going under, and they will do so again, this is where the differences between East and West are the smallest by far; it is in the nation's best interest to help revitalize companies that provide tax income and a lot of jobs for the population, stimulus package 101.
