Ryuta Sato: Too Late for Big Motor’s “Commercial Disappearance,” Facing “One Side of the Pillar” in Long-Term Billboard

It was reported that actor Ryuta Sato (43), who has been serving as a commercial character for used car sales giant Big Motor since 2005, is in talks with the company to terminate his contract over the issue of fraudulent insurance claims.

Less than three months have passed since the Friday magazine scooped a photo of a worker intentionally flattening a customer’s tire at the end of April this year. Sato, however, was featured on Big Motor’s website as an advertising character until July 19.

Finally, on July 20, it was reported that Big Motor had notified the media that the commercial had been canceled.

Big Motor has never held a press conference, let alone taken responsibility, despite the ethical issues that have been raised.

On July 18, the company finally released the following statement: 《2023.07.18. Apology and report on the improper billing issue in the sheet metal department of the Company》.

The company finally announced the results of its investigation, its response to refund customers, and its response to the problem. The company finally took a “serious stance,” responding to the results of the investigation, offering refunds to customers, and returning the one-year remuneration of the president and other executives.

TV Asahi interviewed former executives and the plant manager to report on the fraud. In 2005, the company’s executives were substantially replaced, and the company changed to a “money-making policy” that does not choose any means, and employees resigned one after another, apparently feeling threatened.

The former plant manager said that he betrayed tens of thousands of customers and committed countless acts of fraud, but at the time, “I was more concerned with how to cheat the customers so that they would not find out.

He has been known to drill holes in tires, smash golf balls into them to make them look like “hail damage,” scratch them with sandpaper, and smash headlights with hammers (……).

You would never dream that such things would be done to you when you leave your car in the care of a car rental company.

“If it’s a rental car, they make you check every detail before you get in, but many people surprisingly don’t check every inch of their beloved car. If they tell you that the tire grooves are worn out and there is a flat tire, or that there is a scratch here, and you use your insurance to repair it, they will inspect the car more thoroughly than you would suspect, and they will tell you that the car is in good condition. If the car is repaired with the help of insurance, the customer is more likely to think that the store is “friendly”.

However, in some cases, the customer’s grade may be lowered and the insurance premiums may increase, and since there was a quota of 140,000 yen per car for repairs, there was no other way but to “intentionally break the car.

(TV station insider) The fact that the president of a company this bad would only return compensation for a year has caused a firestorm on social networking sites and elsewhere, as to how “lax” the company’s corporate structure is. However, Big Motor is a privately held company, so the voices of shareholders are not reflected to that extent.

The company’s office is said to be in talks with Big Motor to terminate the advertising contract, but there are mixed opinions on social networking sites.

Some people are sympathetic, saying, “On the contrary, Ryuta Sato should get compensation from Big Motor.

On the other hand, there are those who express sympathy for Ryuta Sato, saying, “On the contrary, he should get compensation from Big Motor.

Some people are sympathetic, while others say, “It’s like he’s helping Big Motor’s insurance scam.

Some people also feel that Ryuta Sato is partly to blame for still being a billboard advertiser after the fraud was uncovered.

Some people say, “Even though there is a contract period for advertising, I think Ms. Sato’s office was too slow to take firm action against the sponsors. Some offices could have prioritized the talent’s image and cut their ties immediately.

But on the other hand, it is also inevitable that they did not realize how malicious it was to this extent. Mr. Sato’s office also belongs to the suspect, Ennosuke Ichikawa, and it must be a real headache for him these days. ……” (a person involved in a wide-ranging TV show)

A company that claims to be the “No. 1 purchaser for six years in a row” has been involved in “forbidden fruit. Can they really get away with just returning the compensation? The government’s response is attracting a lot of attention.