What do disgraced yokozuna (sumo grand champion) Asashoryu Akinori and Tokyo Electric Power Co. have in common? Answer: Both are under the delusion that they can get away with lying in plain sight.

The Mongolian wrestler may or may not be suffering from depression, as one doctor has claimed, but in any case, only a loss of mental capacity explains how he believed he could go to his home country to play in a charity soccer event without anyone in the Japanese media finding out, especially given that soccer star Hideo Nakata, a sports celebrity of equal if not greater magnitude, was involved in the event. In order to make the trip, Asashoryu claimed his back problems prevented him from participating in a mandatory promotional sumo tournament, and now his subterfuge may cost him his career.

TEPCO is in no such danger, despite its proven lack of credibility following the Kashiwazaki earthquake on July 16, when officials downplayed the damage done to the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear power station. It has since been shown that the radiation leaks caused by the quake were more serious than TEPCO first reported. Even more damning was the utility's attempt to cover up the seriousness of a transformer fire. You can't help but wonder how long TEPCO believed their coverup would last once reporters found out that outside firefighters had to be brought in to handle the blaze.