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Game Maker Konami: Similarly Named Company in Panama Papers Is Unrelated

The corporate name was changed from KONAMI CO., LTD. to KONAMI CORPORATION.

February
Internet Revolution, Inc. was established as a joint venture company with Internet Initiative Japan Inc.Internet Revolution, Inc. was established as a joint venture company with Internet Initiative Japan Inc.

March
KONAMI acquired capital in Resort Solution Co., Ltd. (equity method affiliate), simultaneously securing a business alliance.

Konami Digital Entertainment Co., Ltd. was newly established to take over KONAMI's digital entertainment business and KONAMI CORPORATION shifted to a pure holding company.

August
KPE, Inc. started distributing pachinko slot machines.

The "Konami Corporation Limited" that appears in the Offshore Leaks Database, what is called the "Panama Papers," is entirely unrelated to Konami Group.

This calls for a lampoon, I say.

This is the problem with the media of today and the media of the past. Instead of info-dumping a bunch of names and saying "hey everyone, dig through this list we got", there would have been some actual research and building of a story. You know, journalism about who the names on the list are, what they've done, is there actually any criminal wrongdoing? So, rather than leaving people to potentially wrongfully lynching someone who just happens to have a similar name, or conversely, letting someone get away with it or indefinitely delaying any real blow-back by just saying "oh, that's not really me".

Makes me wonder if that's either a different kind of Konami or a blatant lie.

This is the problem with the media of today and the media of the past. Instead of info-dumping a bunch of names and saying "hey everyone, dig through this list we got", there would have been some actual research and building of a story. You know, journalism about who the names on the list are, what they've done, is there actually any criminal wrongdoing?

I would actually lean towards Konami telling the truth about this. Two things here: 1) "Konami" is an actual Japanese word and thus it can be the name of more than one thing (much like how there are a lot of companies and products in the Anglosphere called "Ace" or "Jupiter" or somesuch), and 2) This may be the name of a shell company, which is a company in name only (there may only be just the owner, with no buildings or functions) and used solely for tax evasion purposes.

I can't be sure what's actually going on with the latter, however. There isn't enough information to say.

Perhaps you are right, though I would have thought the name Konami would be trademarked.

How much can we trust Konami on this?

From their own history page;

In July 2000;

Quote:

The corporate name was changed from KONAMI CO., LTD. to KONAMI CORPORATION.

And interesting reading from 2006, take special note of March entry;

Quote:

February Internet Revolution, Inc. was established as a joint venture company with Internet Initiative Japan Inc.Internet Revolution, Inc. was established as a joint venture company with Internet Initiative Japan Inc. March KONAMI acquired capital in Resort Solution Co., Ltd. (equity method affiliate), simultaneously securing a business alliance. Konami Digital Entertainment Co., Ltd. was newly established to take over KONAMI's digital entertainment business and KONAMI CORPORATION shifted to a pure holding company. August KPE, Inc. started distributing pachinko slot machines.

leafy sea dragon wrote:

I would actually lean towards Konami telling the truth about this. Two things here: 1) "Konami" is an actual Japanese word and thus it can be the name of more than one thing (much like how there are a lot of companies and products in the Anglosphere called "Ace" or "Jupiter" or somesuch), and 2) This may be the name of a shell company, which is a company in name only (there may only be just the owner, with no buildings or functions) and used solely for tax evasion purposes. I can't be sure what's actually going on with the latter, however. There isn't enough information to say.

Perhaps you are right, though I would have thought the name Konami would be trademarked.

XerneasYveltal wrote:

Makes me wonder if that's either a different kind of Konami or a blatant lie.

I am sure the Japanese government is asking that same question, but they probably have an eye for it actually being Konami.

DRosencraft wrote:

This is the problem with the media of today and the media of the past. Instead of info-dumping a bunch of names and saying "hey everyone, dig through this list we got", there would have been some actual research and building of a story. You know, journalism about who the names on the list are, what they've done, is there actually any criminal wrongdoing?

Well, you can't really blame them for that. Who is "not" going to report on a leaked list of companies and leaders who have secret bank accounts. If by the chance some of them took the "supposed" high road, by the time they did the actual reporting, it will already be 'old' news. You didn't see anybody championing giving America the benefit of the doubt when WikiLeaks started unloading.

There is usually only one reason to have secret off-shore bank accounts. Sure there should be the presumption of innocence in a court of law, but this is quite damning. A murderer kills his victim, but it was all filmed in glorious HD from multiple security cameras and there are tons of witnesses who saw the actual killing. Sure this is a dream scenario, but the point is we all know he did it beyond a doubt. They guilty verdict is just a legal process.

Seems like Konami is going to play the 'Shell' game for their defense strategy against an expected Japanese investigation.