Tokyo MK Holds Press Conference Over Chair-Throwing Harassment Allegations — 5ch: ‘Throwing Things? I Just Don’t Get It’

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The story

ABEMA TIMES reported that management at taxi company Tokyo MK subjected drivers to power harassment, including throwing chairs at them and shouting at them in English, prompting the company to hold a press conference. At the center of the controversy is a 62-year-old owner from the founding family who is also a shareholder in the company. The representative director’s sister, who appeared at the press conference, reportedly said, ‘If the owner comes in and causes another scene, even though he’s my own brother, I’ll have no choice but to call the police.’ Opinions on 5ch were split, with some arguing the drivers themselves were partly to blame for failing to keep up with English training for inbound tourists, and others saying that throwing objects as a form of guidance can never be justified.

Chair-Throwing and English-Language Verbal Abuse Harassment Report: Taxi Company Tokyo MK Holds Press Conference — “62-Year-Old Younger Brother in Major Row With Sister,” “If the Owner Comes in and Causes Another Scene, I’ll Have No Choice but to Call the Police, Even Though He’s My Brother”

Published 9/2 (Wed) 18:48

ABEMA TIMES

Source: news.yahoo.co.jp / Original article here

What people said

11AnonymousSep 3, 2026 09:31
Representative Director Kyomi Matsubara = Ms. Yoo (given name undisclosed; eldest daughter of founder Yoo Bong-sik)
Owner (Matsubara's younger brother) = Yoo Chang-wan
77AnonymousSep 3, 2026 09:50
@11
Yeah, that's the kind of company it always was.
Just business as usual, I guess.
219AnonymousSep 3, 2026 10:35
@11
This reminds me of the money-grubbing siblings from the Tomioka Hachiman Shrine incident (the 2017 shrine murder sparked by an inheritance dispute).
16AnonymousSep 3, 2026 09:32
Huh, MK is a Korean company? Had no idea.
18AnonymousSep 3, 2026 09:33
@16
They're a big customer of Hyundai Motors lol
28AnonymousSep 3, 2026 09:37
Actually read the article.
Losing it is understandable here.
Japanese people's refusal to study is off the charts.
They were paying for materials and lessons specifically to prep drivers' English for inbound tourism.
Then it turns out that of 15 drivers, not a single one knew what "intersection" means? They clearly didn't study.
Of course he snapped.
35AnonymousSep 3, 2026 09:39
@28
Sorry, but I get being exasperated and wanting to retrain them —
but throwing chairs and whiteboards? I genuinely don't get that.
42AnonymousSep 3, 2026 09:42
Feels less like a labor shortage and more like an oversupply of bosses and owners.
They probably still think there's an endless supply of people out there willing to be pushed around like in the old days.
44AnonymousSep 3, 2026 09:42
You guys are the weird ones here.
How were they planning to handle inbound tourists if they didn't even know basic taxi-related English words?
Knowing Japanese people, they probably don't even know "station."
Way too low awareness.
50AnonymousSep 3, 2026 09:43
@44
The out-of-touch old guard doesn't get it, but it's common knowledge now that "scolding" or "yelling" is basically useless as a teaching method.
60AnonymousSep 3, 2026 09:46
@44
They even held study sessions and people didn't bother showing up.
Of course he got angry.
96AnonymousSep 3, 2026 09:55
People who end up driving taxis do it because they couldn't cut it anywhere else — an industry veteran said as much on TV.
104AnonymousSep 3, 2026 09:57
@96
That's what people used to say.
That's also why some of them fudge the cash and taxi vouchers.
136AnonymousSep 3, 2026 10:07
@96
They should air one of those behind-the-scenes industry documentaries like the ones made back in the '90s.

Plenty of industries still haven't changed even now — that's exactly why turnover is so high.
No matter how much the world changes, people's personalities don't.
115AnonymousSep 3, 2026 10:01
@104
Apparently drivers still have to front their own cash for change and only get reimbursed after they're back at the office.
Talk about zero trust.
159AnonymousSep 3, 2026 10:12
@1
Lol, Shincho straight-up printed his "tsumei" (a Japanese alias some Korean residents in Japan use).

https://www.dailyshincho.jp/article/2017/12231600/?all=1

> Who else could it be but Yoo Chang-wan, the South Korean national who serves as president of taxi company Tokyo MK. The media used to report on him under the Japanese alias Aoki Masaaki. This time, though, his real name was suddenly used.

> Indeed, Tokyo MK's official website lists the representative director as "Yoo Chang Wan." He's the second son of the late Aoki Sadao (Yoo Bong-sik), the industry trailblazer who founded MK Taxi.
193AnonymousSep 3, 2026 10:23
@159
Shincho doesn't hold back, huh.
162AnonymousSep 3, 2026 10:13
Matsubara, not Aoki? Since when?
177AnonymousSep 3, 2026 10:18
@162
The sister probably changed her surname when she got married.

The current 100% shareholder (owner) of Tokyo MK (Tokyo MK Taxi) is Mr. Aoki Masaaki (Yoo Chang-wan).
201AnonymousSep 3, 2026 10:29
It's the job's fault anyway, right? Not guilty, not guilty.
206AnonymousSep 3, 2026 10:30
@201
Blaming the job? Is your Japanese okay?

@203
No, that's not it.
202AnonymousSep 3, 2026 10:29
If I were the driver, I'm confident I could make this guy cry — in English.

Background and Key Points of the Debate

Tokyo MK is part of the “MK Taxi” group, a company long run by its founding family. What came to light this time was the conduct of the 62-year-old owner — the younger brother of the representative director — leading to the unusual scene of his own sister publicly criticizing him at a press conference. Opinions on the thread split between those who felt the drivers bore some responsibility for failing to keep up with English training for inbound tourism, and those who argued that throwing objects can never be justified as a training method, regardless of the circumstances. The press conference was held in response to ABEMA TIMES’ reporting, and for now this remains an internal labor matter rather than a criminal case — worth keeping in mind.

*This article is compiled and summarized from the 5ch (News Express+) thread “[MK] Chair-Throwing and English-Language Verbal Abuse Harassment Report: Taxi Company Tokyo MK Holds Press Conference — “62-Year-Old Younger Brother in Major Row With Sister”.”

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