Bank’s promise: Honesty or suicide

We are being treated to the news that President Biden’s promise to not pardon his son has been broken. This follows the revelation that Kamala overspent the entire Democrat party in her failed bid for president. And a vice president of Toronto Dominio bank, the largest in Canda, has been indicted for helping drug dealers move their money. Where can we find an honest man?  In this era of lying and creative lawfare as well as political promises it may be comforting to know that a bank in Japan was founded by men who took morality seriously. Shikoku Bank’s website has a page about “The Pledge.” This promissory paper document actually predates the current Shikoku Bank name. The Pledge contains the expected vow by Shikoku Bank to ethically and responsibly handle the financial resources with which it has been entrusted, it also includes acceptance of a very strict pre-determined punishment for employees who commit fraud: HariKari, ritual suicide.

The pledge reads: “Those who work for this bank and steals money from it, or from the deceased, will make restitution using their own money or belongings, and then kill themselves.” The exact term used in the Pledge is jijin, literally “self-blade” and referring to committing suicide with a sword, also known as seppuku when referring to the traditional samurai practice of self-disembowelment. And to show just how serious they took the pledge, the 23 signers of the document, including the bank’s president, stamped their signatures in blood. The Pledge, signed in blood, is “a treasure” of bank that’s still in operation today. Professional pride is a big part of Japanese culture, and so companies are often keen to showcase their histories on their websites. Often this takes the form of photographs of the office or shopfront back when the company was first established, or maybe a collection of quotes from the founder, but Shikoku Bank’s website includes a part of their history that conveys their core values in a startlingly violent way.

Shikoku Bank still holds the Pledge in high esteem, saying “This artifact conveys the ethics of our founders not just as bankers, but as members of society, and it is a treasure of Shikoku Bank.” With all those who signed the Pledge in blood having already passed away, it’s unlikely that Shikoku Bank still has an active policy of backing its service against a promise of ritual suicide, but it’s reassuring to know that they take financial security seriously.

Honest accounting:

Wife: Now that we’ve been married 20 years, how old do you think I look, honestly?
Husband: From your skin I’d say 28, from your hair 25, from your figure 29.
Wife: Oh, what a lovely thing to say.
Husband: Hang on, I haven’t finished adding it up yet.

Got fired for being brutally honest…
My boss told me to leave my problems at the door, so I told him to go stand by the door.

A man meets an attractive woman in a bar and tells her, “You know, I’m a lawyer.”
“Honest?” the woman asks.
“No, no. Just the regular kind,” he replied.

How many honest, intelligent, caring men in the world does it take to do the dishes?
Both of them.

December 3rd Birthdays

1985 – Amanda Seyfried, 1960 – Daryl Hannah,  , 1981 – Janette  Dewan, 1987 – Alicia Sacramone

1994  – Jake Austin, 1979 – Brendan Fraser  1972 – Bucky Lasek, 1948 – Ozzy Osbourne

Morning Motivator: