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From the just-issued Viewpoint:  The American Chamber of Commerce in Japan (ACCJ) applauds the Government of Japan (GOJ) for the implementation of the Stewardship Code for institutional investors and the Corporate Governance Code (the “Governance Code”) during the past year.

Nicholas Benes is Representative Director of The Board Director Training Institute of Japan, which trains directors as a government-certified “public interest” nonprofit. Since 2010, he has chaired the Growth Strategy Task Force of the American Chamber of Commerce in Japan.

The Japanese government and the Tokyo Stock Exchange have taken a number of steps aimed at improving corporate governance on the assumption that this will not only improve returns for shareholders, but also improve corporate efficiency and growth prospects.

Only 15  companies have submitted English language Corporate Governance Reports to the TSE in the past 12 months…even though the CG Code asks companies with many foreign investors to consider that.  We need significantly more than 15.   Boys be [more] ambitious!  But recently I was able to convince the TSE to at least make a list of the companies that DO have English reports, so that we can single them out for praise.  You can find the list on a downloadable Excel file on this page.

– Thirty executives named in accounting scandal won't be fired
– Ousted board members stay on the payroll as advisers

“The rule at GE is one strike and you’re out,” said Nicholas Benes, representative director of the Board Director Training Institute of Japan. “What I’m seeing is something closer to 100 percent tolerance at Toshiba.”

“On September 16th, 2015, the Government Pension Investment Fund has become a signatory to the United Nation’s Principles for Responsible Investment (UN-PRI) to express our attitudes to ESG issues.

Our basic perspective on ESG issues

“VI. Conclusion

For better or for worse, two major transitions are now in progress. First, corporate governance is moving from a “board-centric” system toward a “shareholder-centric” system.249 Second, public corporations are increasingly under pressure to incur debt and apply earnings to fund payouts to shareholders, rather than to make long-term investments. Neither transition is wholly the product of hedge fund activism, but that force is accelerating both transitions.

Executive Summary.   This year’s analysis of our data from more than more than 4,600 hotline and case management participating clients revealed several key points ethics and compliance professionals can use to benchmark and assess their program’s performance, and move toward predictive risk mitigation. Of particular note in the 2014 data:

In order to provide an overview for busy in–house counsel and compliance professionals, we summarize below some of the most important international anti-corruption developments in the past month, with links to primary resources.

Thirty months or two and a half years have already passed since the Fukushima nuclear accident. How have TEPCO and the Japanese government been dealing with the aftermath of the accident? The international community which has watched them with serious concerns may have been stunned with their substandard information disclosure and communication skills. The overseas media has covered this issue with as much interest and concern as the conflict in Syria.

It has already been fourteen months since the NAIIC submitted its report to Diet as the first independent investigation commission in the constitutional history of Japan.

Raising awareness about the report to the national public and making it easy to understand was not a task assigned to the Commission. However, I’m pleased to announce that there are young people who have taken up the job.