Triggered by the massive U.S. verdict involving Kioxia, this article reexamines America’s predatory litigation system and the ruthless pressure it has repeatedly placed on Japanese companies, as long exposed by Masayuki Takayama. Toyota, Toshiba, and now Kioxia reveal the same structure: whenever Japan’s core industries rise on the world stage, litigation, politics, finance, and media pressure converge to restrain them. Through the Toshiba-Westinghouse case and America’s litigation society, this article argues for the defense of Japan’s technology and corporate dignity, while also sharply criticizing the reporting stance of Asahi Shimbun and NHK.

July 17, 2026
The recent reports from the United States concerning Kioxia made me remember the unreasonable attack Toyota once suffered in America.
At that time as well, even before the facts had been calmly examined, an abnormal atmosphere was created in which Toyota was virtually condemned in advance.
I still cannot dispel the suspicion that something more than a mere safety issue was involved there—namely, an anti-Japanese climate of opinion and political intent.
The matter appears unnatural when viewed from the standpoint of the semiconductor industry as well.
In the field of memory semiconductors, Korean companies hold an overwhelming presence.
And yet, I have scarcely heard of Korean companies being subjected to the same kind of American litigation pressure or massive verdicts with the same intensity.
Why Toyota, Toshiba, and now Kioxia?
Why is it that, whenever Japanese companies attempt to expand their strength in the world, the forces of American litigation, politics, finance, and media seem to stand in their way?
The Japanese people must never overlook this structure.
The recent reports from the United States concerning Kioxia made me feel once again the sharpness of Masayuki Takayama’s insight.
Toyota, Toshiba, and now Kioxia.
Whenever Japanese companies attempt to expand their strength in the world, the American judicial system, its litigation society, and the dynamics of international finance stand in their way as heavy pressure.
One cannot help but feel a profound sense of unease about this structure.
Of course, each individual lawsuit must be examined calmly and carefully.
However, if there are movements that appear to seize, through huge damages and litigation, the fruits of technology and achievement that Japanese companies have built over many years of effort, they must not be overlooked.
The following is a chapter originally published on October 29, 2019.
America never misses weakened prey.
This time, Toshiba’s subsidiary Westinghouse set a dirty trap and once again forced Toshiba to shoulder a burden of one trillion yen.
It is a lawsuit that would never occur in Japan, a country that knows shame, but behind Reaud stood the lawyer-president Clinton.
It is from an essay by Masayuki Takayama, the one and only journalist in the postwar world.
I was astonished by the self-interest and greed of lawyers, but perhaps that is the very nature of Americans.
In fact, about ten years later, a strange lawsuit was filed against Toshiba in the federal district court in Beaumont, Texas.
The claim was that, if several operations were performed simultaneously on a Toshiba personal computer, the floppy disk controller, or FDC, might break down.
Therefore, Toshiba should pay compensation.
Toshiba argued that there had been no complaints or inquiries about any actual malfunction.
However, attorney Wayne Reaud, who was also a major donor to Clinton, remained adamant.
He insisted that Toshiba had sold personal computers while knowing they were defective.
He would not budge from demanding one trillion yen.
The basis of his claim was simply this.
NEC had mounted an improved FDC after saying, “If excessive load is placed on the current FDC, there is a risk that it may break down.”
Toshiba, however, had not introduced an improved model.
That was all.
It was exactly the same method as the one used to attach a pretext to the small-aircraft industry.
In the end, in 1999, Toshiba accepted a settlement totaling 110 billion yen.
To raise the money, Toshiba sold securities.
Even so, it posted a loss of 65 billion yen, and that was the beginning of the accounting scandal.
America never misses weakened prey.
This time, Toshiba’s subsidiary Westinghouse set a dirty trap and once again forced Toshiba to shoulder a burden of one trillion yen.
It was a conclusion that perfectly illustrated ruthless America.
The ones who relentlessly attacked Toshiba after it had suffered such outrageous abuse were the Asahi Shimbun and the people who control NHK’s news division.
Now, in the face of the latest reports from the United States concerning Kioxia, I strongly feel the need to republish this chapter.
The Japanese people must never forget this structure.