Draft Revision of Japan’s Corporate Governance Code: Public Comment Period Begins

The Council of Experts Concerning the Follow-up of Japan’s Stewardship Code and Japan’s Corporate Governance Code (Chairman: Kazuhito Ikeo, Professor of Economics and Finance, Keio University) has  published its proposals for “Revision of the Corporate Governance Code” and  “Guidelines for Investor and Company Engagement”. Both are being put out for public comment until April 29, 2018.  Full information from the FSA is available here.   The documents themselves are available the links below.

Revision of the Coporate Governance Code and Establishment of Guidelines for Investor and Company Engagement(including Appendix1 and Appendix2)

(Appendix1)Japan’s Corporate Governance Code (Draft Revision)

(Appendix2)Guidelines for Investor and Company Engagement (Draft)

Networking forum for non-Japanese executives at Japanese firms and their Japanese counterparts

Recently, many major Japanese companies have been bringing non-Japanese executives to Japan to fill key roles in their global operations. Diversifying the ranks of senior executives is an important step forward for Japanese firms. But it also represents a significant change in terms of how communication and decision-making works at the highest levels of the organization.
Non-Japanese executives working in Japan have few chances to meet their peers at other Japanese firms. There are also few chances to have in-depth and meaningful conversations about the unique issues faced by Japanese companies in the process of becoming truly global entities.

Based on its long experience organizing forums for Japanese executives, the well-regarded Business Research Institute is establishing a new forum designed for non-Japanese executives in Japan and their Japanese counterparts to participate in together. This new forum will provide an important opportunity for networking and discussion. It will be held entirely in English, and will provide the opportunity for frank and in-depth exchange of opinions in a confidential setting.

METRICALs CG Analysis Now Covers 1,808 Companies, Up From 511, Yielding More Robust Results

As of February 2018, METRICAL now covers more than 1,800 companies, having increased its scope from 500 companies. Our research now covers all TSE 1st section companies that have a market capitalization greater than Yen 10 Billion, which is to say almost all TSE1 companies. METRICAL has analyzed the corporate governance of Japanese companies for three years, using 10 criteria and more than 20 sub-criteria. The analysis focuses on both board practices as well as the corporate actions that should be closely affected by CG practice and should ultimately improve financial performance of companies.