Sony has had its ups and downs over the past few years, and there’s no denying that the company isn’t quite so hot as it once was. According to one former Sony chief, there’s a reason for this … a foreigner at the helm.
Koichiro Tsujino, ex-Sony Vaio chief and ex-Google Japan president, recent gave a seminar where he shared several opinions on the PS3 platform holder. According to Tsujino, Sony was once innovative, but has become too slow for the Internet era and too quick to kill off projects before they get a chance.
After giving Sony a dressing down, he then dropped a rather controversial bombshell, stating that the company, “should never have been run by a foreigner.” He was referring to current Sony CEO Howard Stringer, but refused to elaborate for fear that he’d get into trouble.
Unfortunately, that refusal to elaborate just makes him sound rather racist. At the very least it compounds the stereotype of the xenophobic Japanese businessman who doesn’t trust those fork-tongued round-eyes. Maybe he has a point, but damn, that’s a harsh and potentially offensive way of putting it.
What do you reckon? Should a Japanese company remain in the hands of the Japanese forevermore, or was Tsujino being a bit bigoted?
