Japan's Fujitsu faces questioning over British Post Office scandal

TOKYO — Japan's Fujitsu is under growing pressure over its role in a scandal in which hundreds of Post Office workers in Britain were convicted of theft, fraud and false accounting because of glitches in software developed by the company.

Amid mounting public anger, Britain is moving to quash convictions and pay compensation after hundreds of self-employed sub-postmasters were wrongly prosecuted or convicted between 1999 and 2015.

Fujitsu representatives are due to appear at a public inquiry into the scandal next week with the company also called to appear before a British parliamentary committee for questioning.

"Anybody who is shown to be responsible for this scandal should be held accountable, including by making payments into the taxpayer's fund," Kevin Hollinrake, the minister with responsibility for postal affairs, said in parliament on Monday (Jan 8).

There has been resurgent interest in the wrongful convictions after a British TV drama on the events recently aired. Fujitsu's Horizon computer accounting system was at the centre of the scandal for incorrectly showing shortfalls in the accounts of Post Office branches.

Fujitsu CEO Takahito Tokita has not commented publicly on the scandal.

In a statement given to Reuters on Thursday, Fujitsu said, "The inquiry has reinforced the devastating impact on postmasters' lives and that of their families, and Fujitsu has apologised for its role in their suffering."

"Fujitsu is fully committed to supporting the inquiry in order to understand what happened and to learn from it," the statement said. The company declined to answer further questions.

The company is listed as a strategic supplier to the British government and has won other contracts from them.

Fujitsu's shares closed flat on Thursday in Tokyo after three consecutive days of decline.

In October 2020, Fujitsu hardware powering the Tokyo Stock Exchange failed, causing an all-day trading halt that tarnished the bourse's reputation.

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