Hi all, writing to say that I submitted, as a US-based investor in Japanese equities, a comment that seems to touch on points similar to those BDTI advocates. In summary, since public companies' in Japan have boards comprised primarily of executive directors, training for a lone, or small majority of, outside director(s) is insufficient. More independent directors are of course welcomed from the point of view of investors. However, there needs to be assurance that executive and outside directors are qualified to serve as such.
I'm appreciative of the opportunity to comment, but hope that the TSE takes meaningful, concrete steps. Frankly, it gets old hearing of Western investors decry Japanese corp gov. I just published a book, Investing in Japan: There is not stock market as undervalued and as misunderstood as Japan, and found some corpgov/rights bright spots believe it or not, particularly within the rights afforded to Japanese shareholders. It would be great to see more activity within the investor community in Japan, similar to the activity fellow volunteer members and I take with the nonprofit United States Proxy Exchange in the U.S. Hoping BDTI proves to be the gathering place for governance and rights-minded investors and community members.
Steven Towns
http://steventowns.com
The Board Director Training Institute (BDTI) is a "public interest" nonprofit in Japan dedicated to training about directorship, corporate governance, and related management techniques. It is certified by the Japanese government to conduct these activities as a regulated nonprofit. Read a summary about BDTI here, and see a menu of its services for both corporations and investors here.