Officials teed off after train crash

In the hours following Japan’s worst train crash in more than 40 years, with the death toll soaring and rescuers struggling to free inj...

In the hours following Japan’s worst train crash in more than 40 years, with the death toll soaring and rescuers struggling to free injured passengers, 43 executives and staffers of the company that operates the line responded to the emergency by sticking to their original plans for the day. They went bowling.

They weren’t alone. Since the April 25 crash that killed 107 people near Amagasaki, there has been a stream of revelations about employees of West Japan Railway Co. enjoying themselves at golf tournaments and boozy parties at the same time their passengers lay dead or dying. The news that no one spoke up to put a stop to the celebrations has appalled many Japanese.

The company says it has seen a rise in physical and verbal assaults on staff since the crash. There is also wonder about the moral climate within the Osaka-based company, given what many see as its callous behaviour.

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It includes the disclosure that two company drivers who were riding the doomed train to work that morning called in to report the accident and were told by their bosses to leave the scene immediately and report for their shift.

JR West, as the company is commonly known, later apologised for its drivers not staying to help rescue injured passengers. It said the two drivers and the bosses who ordered them to leave would be disciplined.

An internal company investigation reported on Friday that 185 employees went ahead with events a company official described at a news conference as ‘‘inappropriate’’.

JR West president Takeshi Kakiuchi called the behaviour ‘‘lamentable and regrettable’’. Apologies have not lessened the incredulity among the Japanese at what many see as a dysfunctional corporate culture. —LAT-WP