Discussion Forum - Page 23 of 116 - The Board Director Training Institute of Japan (BDTI)

Discussion Forum

Latest Discussion

Message from the New Representative Director

”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.

Read More

”Japanese Corporate Governance from the Perspective of Family Firms”

2016-07-19 posted by

BDTI is happy to share a Research Paper titled ”Japanese Corporate Governance from the Perspective of Family Firms” by Hokuto Dazai (Independent), Takuji Saito (Waseda University), Zenichi Shishido (Hitotsubashi University Graduate School of International Corporate Strategy; Independent) and Noriyuki Yanagawa (University of Tokyo – Faculty of Economics).

The research attempts to answer the questions: why have the performances of the Japanese Model of corporate governance (J-form firms) deteriorated since the Japanese economic bubble in the mid-1980s, and why have J-family firms generally outperformed non-family firms?  It goes on to analyze and compare J-form and J-family firms on general issues of corporate governance, including internal and external governance, internal promotion rules, long-run reward systems, and incentive mechanisms.

Read More

”Investors Vocal at Scandal-Hit Firms”

2016-07-02 posted by

”Wednesday marked a peak time for this year’s general shareholders meetings among major listed firms in the nation, with severe criticisms voiced one after another toward the management of companies involved in scandals, including Mitsubishi Motors Corp. Many shareholders also raised concerns about future business performances in response to Britain’s decision to leave the European […]

Read More

Why Corporate Governance is Central to Japan’s Growth Strategy

2016-06-30 posted by 1 Comment

Just to add a few additional points in addition to Nick’s insightful comments–>  Given (a) evidence that productivity in Japan is very strongly influenced by investment-specific technology, and (b) evidence that services sectors in the non-IT sector were “left behind” while manufacturing and IT sectors were able to capitalise on the technology boom, it makes sense to focus efforts on structural reform in the services sector.

Still, as Fukao, Miyagawa and Hisa demonstrated in their 2012 paper,increasing intangible capital alone has proven no indicator of rising TFP in the services sector.  This may explain why policies designed to promote growth via intangible investment in services sector in the early 2000’s were misplaced.

So what are the policy alternatives?  The second TFP paper gives us some key policy ingredients:

Read More

Naomi Fink:”Heterogeneity in Japanese TFP, Part 2: Regulation, Capital Allocation, and TFP in Japan”

2016-06-29 posted by

Columbia University Academic Commons

This second essay by Naomi Fink make its points very clear: (a) overcoming deflation alone will not solve Japan’s economic problems; (b) deregulation of the services sector, and increased innovation will be necessary to increase total productivity.  This is exactly the same conclusion reached by Professors Kyoji Fukao, Hyeog Ug Kwon and Robert Eberhart (from Hitotsubashi University and Stanford University) in the analysis they did that supported the American Chamber in Japan’s “Growth Strategy White Paper” – Charting a New Course for Growth ~ Recommendations for Japan’s Leaders . I am proud to say that this analysis and the White Paper had a profound impact on Japanese economic policy, and indeed, formed the basis of Abenomics “third arrow”. I only hope the government does not lose the momentum that it has started.    – Nicholas Benes

Read More

Naomi Fink:”Heterogeneity in Japanese TFP, Part 1: Why Overcoming Deflation Alone is Not Enough”

2016-06-29 posted by

Columbia University Academic Commons

Insightful analysis from Naomi Fink. The sectors with the slowest TFP grown did not show the deepest or most consistent negative deflation. Instead, the most deflationary sectors were out-performers in terms of TFP: manufacturing and IT.  The problem is, many of those companies are globalizing and investing offshore (instead of in Japan) precisely because they have the wherewithal and competitiveness to do so.  I would think there is a connection here.   –  Nicholas Benes

Read More

”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 […]

Read More

GPIF Sues Toshiba: Japan’s Securities Law that Makes it Easy to Sue

2016-06-23 posted by

The the news of the day is that GPIF is suing Toshiba for ＄１０ million． It is only one asset manager that is suing, almost certainly under Article 21-2 Japan securities law (FIL) which makes it very easy for plaintiffs to sue and claim a “presumed damages amount”, and then shifts the burden of proof to the defendant company (unlike US law) to disprove its negligence.  The stock has come down by about 26% or so.   (Interestingly, Japanese securities law in this area is much harsher than US law, which never shifts the burden of proof in such cases.)

Read More

Login

Not a member? Register here and immediately make your entry. It takes less than a minute.