Tag: Corporate Governance Code

”A Look at the Recent State of Corporate Governance in Japan”

2016-07-23 posted by

Below is an interview on the recent state of Corporate governance in Japan that was held early this month. The interview is between Mr. Miyajima Hideaki (Faculty Fellow, RIETI / Waseda University),  interviewer and Mr. Colin Mayer (Said Business School, Oxford University), interviewee.

Mr. Mayer shares his opinions on the unique features of corporate governance in Japan, how to encourage companies to take risks, ownership structures, the role of outside directors, the comply and explain principle and the role of corporate governance in promoting strong economic performance.

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”Corporate governance report card”

2016-06-26 posted by

”Japanese companies appear to be steadily implementing the corporate governance code introduced by the Tokyo Stock Exchange a year ago, at least in form. Of the 2,018 firms listed on the first and second sections of the TSE, 78 percent say they are now in compliance with at least 90 percent of the principles set […]

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”How are Japanese companies becoming better stewards of capital? Improving corporate governance”

2016-06-17 posted by

Japanese corporate profits are way up, even if real GDP is not.

”If you were to use just one measure, such as real GDP, to assess how Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was performing, you would conclude his policies are clearly not working: real GDP itself is flat to slightly negative since he took office.

On the other hand, if you look at the aggregate operating profit of Tokyo Stock Exchange Price index constituents as a reflection of corporate profits, it has grown more than 60% since he took office.

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Forbes： U.S. Companies Joining FTSE4Good Index, Banks and Japanese Companies Exiting

2016-06-07 posted by

“Green” indices are rising in popularity as investors increasingly seek to put business in context of its surroundings, and its wider impact. FTSE4Good, the global index provided by  FTSE Russell, measures how a company operates in terms of environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors rather than what it makes — and ESG risk is everywhere, quite apart from “climate risk,” now at the forefront of attention.

Tougher inclusion criteria has just resulted in the removal of 43 companies from the index, with a startling number from Japan, where the picture of the extent of corporate governance reforms remains unclear. Its latest review sees 77 new additions to the FTSE4Good Global Index, of which 26 companies are from the United States, making it the largest contributor………..”

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The Canadian Business Journal: “Japanese Corporate Governance Codes in Global Investors Spotlight”

2016-06-02 posted by

”NEW YORK, NY–(Marketwired – May 31, 2016) – Institutional Investor, a world leading financial information company founded in 1967, is pleased to announce the results of the 2016 rankings of Japan’s top CEOs, CFOs, Investor Relations Officers and Investor Relations Departments. Institutional Investor’s CEO, David Antin, is the founder of the Executive Team rankings, which are supported by deep data and have become a key benchmark globally. This year, 443 Japanese companies received nominations across 25 business sectors. Corporate governance proved a key factor in determining the winners.

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Citywire: ”Japanese value is not dependent on a weak yen”

2016-05-20 posted by

”The Japanese equity market has been under pressure recently from a strengthening currency, a weakening global economy and the uncertainty caused by the Bank of Japan’s introduction in late January of a negative interest rate policy. We recognise these concerns, but think that the fears of many market participants are overdone.

As value investors we still see Japan as a fertile hunting ground.

A far greater percentage of listed companies have net cash on their balance sheets in Japan than in any other major market and net cash represents a greater percentage of market capitalisation, as shown below. Furthermore, many of those companies have significant unrealised gains on real estate holdings; and many have large holdings of listed equities, some for strategic business purposes, but some for no reason other than historic relationships.

The question that has occupied the minds of value investors like us has been how that value can be unlocked, used more efficiently and returned to investors when not needed for operational purposes. In that regard, we think that 2015 was a pivotal year for listed Japanese companies.

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Prof. Osugi: ”Corporate Governance – No Longer Somebody Else’s Problem”

2016-05-17 posted by

An article by BDTI’s Representative Director Professor Kenichi Osugi:

”1. Introduction

Up until very recently, discussion of corporate governance was only relevant to certain academics and the IR representatives of listed companies. However, since the Japanese government cited improvements to corporate governance as being a part of its “Abenomics” policy, corporate governance has become a broad-reaching topic that cannot be ignored by listed companies and their executives. Specifically, organizations such as the Financial Services Agency and Tokyo Stock Exchange have formulated the ”Stewardship Code” (February 2014) and the  ”Corporate Governance Code” (June 2015), and listed companies and institutional investors were forced to respond to these codes of conduct………”

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Corporate Governance Articles in the Newsletter of the Institute of Social Research, University of Tokyo, March 2016

2016-05-07 posted by

Corporate Governance

”Social Science Japan newsletter 54 takes up where it left off last issue and continues to explore the theme of governance. This time, the focus is on corporate governance. Six ISS scholars discuss the topic from various angles.

Tanaka Wataru summarizes the ISS research project and the book that inspired this issue’s featured theme. He explains what corporate governance entails and the history of its transformation in Japan. Cato Susumu analyses the dynamics of the wage structure in firms and shows how firm-specific human capital affects wages under a seniority system. Focusing on middle managers as actors in corporate governance, Owan Hideo looks at how they affect firm productivity and what measure can be used to evaluate their performance. Sasaki Dan highlights the concurrent passage, in 2014, of amendments to corporate and school educational law and argues that the reforms have reduced autonomy and increased externally-imposed or topdown control. He raises concerns about the consequences of mandating the inclusion of “neutral,” external members to the executive boards of large corporations. Nakamura Naofumi and Nakabayashi Masaki explore corporate governance in its historical context.

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Papers by Professor Toru Yoshikawa: the Importance of Trust, and “Convergence”

2016-05-04 posted by

directorship director training

A recent article put out by the SMU Office of Research, quoted second below, describes the work of Professor Yoshikawa of the Singapore Management University related to concepts of convergence in corporate governance as related to Asia and Japan. I personally think that the more recent 2013 paper that Professor Yoshikawa contributed to is equally, if not more, on point. In my own experience effective collaboration between management and outside directors can only occur if the latter’s perception of the CEO values and integrity, including his/her committment to governance, are high. This is true in any country, but it is even more true in Japan because the number of outside directors is small. (Comment by Nicholas Benes of BDTI)

1) Paper: “The Effects of CEO Trustworthiness on Directors’ Monitoring and Resource Provision2

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