An apology would be nice, as a starting point.(The Producer Beat)

National Underwriter Property & Casualty-Risk & Benefits Management, November, 2004 by Ruquet, Mark E.

THERE ARE CULTURAL PRACTICES that separate Japanese and Americans, but none so illuminating as the differences between the two when it comes to taking responsibility for one's actions. Recently, the government of Japan was ordered by the country's top court to pay victims in the Minamata mercury poisoning case more than $700,000.

It took 22 years, but the government finally admitted its responsibility after looking the other way while mercury contamination poisoned over 1,700 people. After the verdict, the environmental minister bowed to the plaintiffs, apologized, and pledged that the government would not let this happen again. Here in the United States, it is rare that corporate or political leaders take responsibility for their own transgressions, let...

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