Popular announcer’s embezzlement of 40 million yen in “labor union dues

It was revealed that a shocking incident had occurred at CBC Television, a TBS-affiliated broadcaster serving the Chubu region centering on Nagoya. A current employee, a popular announcer, had embezzled labor union dues.

The amount was 40 million yen. The embezzler was Ryo Eda, 33, who has been with the company for 10 years.

After graduating from Waseda University, Eda joined CBC Television in 2001, appearing on CBC’s signature programs “Kewpie 3-minute Cooking” and “Gogosuma. What in the world does a popular announcer mean by embezzlement? A source familiar with the situation in Japan tells us, “It was discovered in September of this year.

It was discovered around September of this year, when the labor union held an election of officers, and the union president and the head of the finance department were replaced. When the new union president asked Eda, who was finance director from ’18 to ’21, to produce his bank book so that he could check union dues, Eda told him that he had destroyed it. When we became suspicious and checked and investigated the electronic records, we found that many things did not add up. Eventually, Eda admitted that he had embezzled a whopping 40 million yen.

What was Eda doing with 40 million yen?

Eda told the union’s investigation that he used the money for investment. He was a talented investor, and I heard that he made a profit of more than 10 million yen without dissolving the money he embezzled.

Perhaps fearing detection, Eda refunded 35 million yen of the 40 million yen he had embezzled in September of this year. Eventually, he admitted to embezzling the missing 5 million yen and refunded it as well. However, he has not refunded the approximately 10 million yen he made from his investments.

CBC employees who knew about Eda’s usual activities could not hide their surprise.

Even though he works for a local station, Eda is a top announcer at a TV station,” said one CBC employee. Embezzling money from the labor union’s pool was a surprise to him. To begin with, the labor union’s pooled fund is money deducted from employees’ salaries. Since his name is Ryo Eda, he is called Mr. Ouryou within the company.

To confirm the facts, this magazine directly interviewed Eda in early December, when he and his wife returned home together, rolling a large trunk. We repeatedly asked him questions about embezzlement, but he repeatedly said, “Please ask the company,” and then walked quickly into the high-rise condominium where he lived.

We later sent a letter of inquiry to CBC Television.

CBC Television has received a report from the labor union and is currently investigating the facts. We will take appropriate action.

The response was, “We will take appropriate action.

Embezzlement in the course of one’s duties is a criminal act. The media, which reports on injustice in the world, cannot simply cover up the stink.

The December 9 issue of “FRIDAY” carried details on how the embezzlement was discovered. The paid version of the website “FRIDAY Subscription” also published multiple photos as well as a detailed report.

The description “Appeared on ‘N-Sta'” in the December 23 issue of “FRIDAY” was incorrect. We correct it.

Click here for a profile of Anna Eda and the truth about the embezzlement case.