is a former President and Chief Executive Officer of

Mitsubishi Motors is a Japanese multinational automobile manufacturer headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan.Mitsubishi Motor Manufacturing of America, General Manager of the

Nagoya is the largest city in the Chūbu region, the fourth-most populous city and third most populous urban area in Japan, with a population of 2.3million in 2020. Located on the Pacific coast in central Honshu, it is the capital and the most pop ...

production plant, and General Manager of the Office of Passenger Car Production."The board"
, Mitsubishi Motors Annual Report 2000, p.7 He was appointed to the board of Mitsubishi Motors in 1995, and became President on November 27, 1997 following the resignation of his predecessor Takemune Kimura,"Mitsubishi Motors Nominates Candidates for Posts of Chairman and President"
Mitsubishi Motors press release, November 11, 1997 who was forced to step down after admitting involvement in a

racketeering Racketeering is a type of organized crime in which the perpetrators set up a coercive, fraudulent, extortionary, or otherwise illegal coordinated scheme or operation (a "racket") to repeatedly or consistently collect a profit. Originally and of ...

scandal."Executives to Step Down At Mitsubishi Motors"
''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'', October 31, 1997 At the time the company was suffering the effects of the

East Asian financial crisis The Asian financial crisis was a period of financial crisis that gripped much of East Asia and Southeast Asia beginning in July 1997 and raised fears of a worldwide economic meltdown due to financial contagion. However, the recovery in 1998–1 ...

, and Kawasoe's first year in charge would be marked by a ¥25.7 billion net

loss Loss may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * ''Loss'' (Bass Communion album) (2006) * ''Loss'' (Mull Historical Society album) (2001) *"Loss", a song by God Is an Astronaut from their self-titled album (2008) * Losses "(Lil Tjay son ...

and the suspension of

dividend A dividend is a distribution of profits by a corporation to its shareholders. When a corporation earns a profit or surplus, it is able to pay a portion of the profit as a dividend to shareholders. Any amount not distributed is taken to be re-in ...

payments to shareholders."Mitsubishi Motors reports consolidated results for year ending 31 March 1998"
Mitsubishi Motors press release, May 28, 1998 In response, Kawasoe proposed a recovery strategy of staff cuts, rationalisation of car platforms, and the closure of plants in

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is bo ...

and

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

."Setting sun"
Neil Weinberg, ''

Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine owned by Integrated Whale Media Investments and the Forbes family. Published eight times a year, it features articles on finance, industry, investing, and marketing topics. ''Forbes'' also re ...

'', April 20, 1998 However, the plan was only partially successful, and following another year without dividend payments in 1999, Mitsubishi was forced to seek external support when it sold a controlling 34 percent stake to

DaimlerChrysler The Mercedes-Benz Group AG (previously named Daimler-Benz, DaimlerChrysler and Daimler) is a German multinational automotive corporation headquartered in Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is one of the world's leading car manufacture ...

for

€ The euro sign () is the currency sign used for the euro, the official currency of the eurozone and unilaterally adopted by Kosovo and Montenegro. The design was presented to the public by the European Commission on 12 December 1996. It consists o ...

2.1 billion on March 27, 2000."DaimlerChrysler seals Mitsubishi deal"
''

BBC News BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broadca ...

'', March 27, 2000"Katsuhiko Kawasoe, President, Mitsubishi Motors Corp.: Becoming a Major Presence Worldwide"
, Japan Auto Trends, JAMA, Vol.4, no.2, June 2000 In June 2000, Kawasoe was forced to admit that Mitsubishi Motors and its Fuso Truck and Bus subsidiary had systematically covered up reports of vehicle defects from the Japanese Transport Ministry since 1977."Mitsubishi cover-up reported"
''

'', August 17, 2000 The effect on the company's stock was immediate and precipitous, falling 13 percent on the news."Mitsubishi recalls 514,000 vehicles"
''

'', July 19, 2000 As further revelations of "one of the largest corporate scandals in Japanese history""Mitsubishi's corporate woes tarnish image"
Richard Russell, ''Canadian Car & Driver'', July 18, 2005"Safety Scandal Shames Mitsubishi"
, Anthony Faiola, ''

Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...

Foreign Service'', July 6, 2004 emerged over the summer the stock continued to plummet until Kawasoe was forced to resign on November 1, 2000."Cover-up forces Mitsubishi boss out"
''

'', September 8, 2000 For his final month he took a 40 percent pay cut, along with dozens of other executives who suffered similar punishments."Pay cuts at Mitsubishi"

, September 30, 2000 Kawasoe's involvement in Mitsubishi's troubles was not to end after his resignation. Following two

fatal accident An accident is an unintended, normally unwanted event that was not directly caused by humans. The term ''accident'' implies that nobody should be blamed, but the event may have been caused by unrecognized or unaddressed risks. Most researcher ...

s involving Fuso trucks in 2002 and 2004, he and five other former executives were arrested by police investigating the deaths and subsequently charged with professional negligence."Former Mitsubishi boss arrested"
''

'', June 10, 2004 He, along with the other executives, was convicted and received a

suspended sentence A suspended sentence is a sentence on conviction for a criminal offence, the serving of which the court orders to be deferred in order to allow the defendant to perform a period of probation. If the defendant does not break the law during that ...

."Former Mitsubishi Motors head convicted for death"
''

Reuters Reuters ( ) is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters Corporation. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide. Reuters is one of the largest news agencies in the world. The agency was estab ...

'', January 16, 2008

Footnotes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kawasoe, Katsuhiko 1936 births Living people Japanese chief executives Chief executives in the automobile industry Mitsubishi Motors people