Twenty-eight years ago today, on November 24, 1997 (October 25, 1997 in the lunar calendar), Japan's Yamaichi Securities Company closed down. At 6 o'clock in the morning of November 24th, 1997, Yamayichi Securities, one of the four major securities companies in Japan, held an interim board meeting, formally decided to "abandon itself", and filed an application with the Ministry of Finance of Japan that morning. This year coincides with the 100th anniversary of the founding of Yamaichi Securities. Before the "century-old shop" held its centenary birthday banquet, it rang the bell to close the shop. According to Shohei Nozawa, president of Yamaichi Securities, Yamaichi Securities currently has total liabilities of 3.3 trillion yen, and Fuji Bank, the company's backing bank, has announced that it will no longer lend relief. In the desperate situation, Shanichi Securities made the decision to apply to the government for "self-abandonment". The so-called "self-abandonment" means that a securities company whose business status has deteriorated and cannot continue to operate voluntarily applies for the return of its business license and declares its de facto bankruptcy. After receiving the application from the securities company, the Ministry of Finance shall immediately inspect it, and only recognize it on the premise of confirming that the customer's assets are not lost. However, if major illegal events are found during the inspection process, "self-abandonment" cannot be accepted, but the securities company will be punished by revoking its license. Judging from the facts published by Japanese newspapers and periodicals at that time, Yamaichi Securities was not simply heavily in debt, but did commit illegal acts, mainly because it deliberately concealed some debts, and there were "off-book debts" that could not be seen in the account books. According to the Securities Bureau of Japan's Ministry of Finance, the amount of this part of the debt is about 260 billion yen, and the exact amount needs further investigation. The practice of concealing debts obviously violates the Securities Exchange Law, and the focus of public opinion is on this issue at present. According to the Yomiuri Shimbun, the problem of "off-book debt" of Yamaichi Securities appeared as early as 1992. Nagano Pangshi, securities director of the Ministry of Finance, also admitted that he had "heard of it for a long time". Both the Ministry of Finance of Japan and the Bank of Japan (central bank) have inspection and supervision systems for securities companies to prevent illegal acts by securities companies. In November, 1995, the Ministry of Finance inspected Yamaichi Securities, and in September, 1997, the Bank of Japan also inspected it. However, all the illegal acts of Yamaichi Securities "escaped" the eyes of financial supervision agencies, and Japan's financial inspection is in name only. In this regard, Asahi Shimbun pointed out in an editorial that the Ministry of Finance has a great responsibility. Yamaichi Securities was once one of the four largest securities companies in Japan. It is reported that investors' assets in the company are as high as 24 trillion yen. In order to avoid the impact of its bankruptcy on the financial and securities industry in Japan and even the world, Japan's Ministry of Finance has repeatedly stressed; Yamaichi Securities has not yet become insolvent, which can ensure that its assets will not be lost. However, as Yamaichi Securities has 28 financial subsidiaries and grandson companies in the United States, Britain, the Netherlands and other countries, it has a high reputation and a large transaction volume. In order to avoid the bankruptcy of Yamaichi Securities causing countries to raise financing interest rates for Japanese financial institutions and avoid the impact and confusion caused by the bankruptcy of Yamaichi Securities to the securities markets of various countries to the maximum extent, the Bank of Japan held an interim policy committee on the morning of 24th. In 1997, three medium-sized securities companies in the Japanese securities industry, such as Ogawa Securities, Echigo Securities and Sanyo Securities, closed down. The collapse of Yamaichi Securities Company obviously had a greater impact on the Japanese financial sector than any previously closed company, because it was the largest closed company in Japan after the war. Judging from the current situation, it seems that the repayment of customers' assets is not a problem, but the stay of 7,500 employees of Shanichi Securities has become a big problem that cannot be ignored. On the afternoon of 24th, Masahiro Nozawa, president of Yamaichi Securities, apologized to the staff and families of all branches in Japan via satellite. Hiroshi Yokota, a Japanese writer who once worked as a bank clerk, said that in recent years, enterprises have closed down one after another, and the biggest reason is that enterprises lack crisis awareness. As a customer, the most important thing at present is to quickly raise your assets from unreliable financial institutions, and "go is the best policy". At the same time, Yokota advised those who live on salary to have a sense of crisis, and from now on, cultivate their ability to still stand after leaving the company.