I believe that this incident was the source for a story told during leadership seminars, the point being the cultural differences in leader accountability.
The story goes that the landing in the bay was followed by months of detailed investigations, mountains of reports, and legions of lawyers. Finally, the pilot, Captain Aso was called to testify. Amid a crowded and hushed court, Captain Aso took the stand and was asked his opinion for the cause of the accident:
His response: "Aso f**k up."
That story was the first thing that came to my mind today on hearing the report of the crash.
A buddy was freight manager for JAL at that time. He related the story along with the “window seat” comment.