Governance School (Basic)

The “Governance School” is a one-day training program for executive officers, directors, and auditors, led by experts in each field. It is ideal for addressing CGC [Principle 4-14] and is also recommended for those aspiring to become board members. Through case studies and discussions based on real examples, participants gain practical knowledge that can be applied in their work. Graduates can register with the “Director Bank,” taking a step toward becoming an outside director candidate.

Knowledge of finance is an essential skill for directors. If you lack confidence reading financial statements, or would like to learn both the basics and the practical aspects of modern finance, please consider enrolling in our ”Finance Juku” course.

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Subject:	Directors, auditors, executive officers, general managers, those in charge of governance, and others with an interest in governance
Capacity:	Max. 20 persons
Dates:	October 21, 2025 (Tuesday) Registration closed December 9, 2025 (Tuesday) Fully booked February 19, 2026 (Thursday) Registration open March 25, 2026 (Wednesday) Registration open
Hours:	9:00-17:00
Course fee:	Course Fee: 95,000 yen (including tax) Corporate member price: 66,500 yen (including tax)
Venue:	Cicom Brains Learning Center Meeting Room Akihabara Dai Building 7F, 1-18-13 Sotokanda, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 101-0021, Japan https://www.cicombrains.com/about/access.html

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Course Contents

This course aims to equip participants with knowledge across a broad range of fields essential for governance, extending beyond legal expertise to address the rapidly changing and increasingly globalized business environment. In addition to lectures, it features interactive case studies where participants exchange opinions and learn from each other. *Please note that some content may be subject to change to incorporate the latest developments during the lectures.

I) How to acquire “executive power"

Shared awareness of issues among participants
What is “executive power?”
Origin and Definition of Governance
Obligations and responsibilities of directors as defined in the Companies Act
Difficulties in reforming corporate culture and the importance of top management’s actions
best practice

Ⅱ）Responsibilities of the Board of Directors and Directors as stipulated in the Companies Act

Corporate Law Rules and Practices Related to the Board of Directors
The most important knowledge directors should have in mind – duties and responsibilities
Shareholder derivative actions, principles of business judgment
Discussion of real-life examples of misconduct. What would you do if you were there?”
Recent changes in the legal system and case law. Possible changes that can be expected in the future. Key issues to watch for when the law is still unknown.

Ⅲ）Financial Instruments and Exchange Law and Enterprise Risk Management

Risks to the Company in Misstatement Cases
Risks for individual board members and actions to be taken
Misstatements in the ESG Era
The Relationship between the Board of Directors and Information from Examples (Enterprise Risk Management)

Ⅳ）Case Study: “What Makes a Truly Global Company?” What would you do?

The relationship between governance and superiority as a global company
Accounting irregularities at overseas subsidiaries
Corporate Steering from the Drama of Internal Conflict

Ⅴ）What do investors expect from directors?

Investor Testimonials (video)
discussion
Next Steps
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Instructors

Professor, Chuo University Law School; Representative Director, BDTI

He graduated from the University of Tokyo Faculty of Law and worked as an assistant professor at the Tokyo Metropolitan University Faculty of Law before assuming his current position. His main areas of research and activities are corporate governance and venture business law. He is a member of the Corporate Governance Study Group of the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, the Study Group on Corporate Governance Systems, and the M&A Study Group of the Economic and Social Research Institute, Cabinet Office. His publications include "Corporate Law (3rd edition co-authored by Yuhikaku 2015)," "Casebook Corporate Law (5th edition co-authored by Kobundo 2015)," "Corporate Governance that is Not a Matter of Other People's Affairs," "Can Corporate Law Prevent Corporate Scandals?" "Convergence of Corporate Governance and Its Background," Law Jiho, vol. 84, no. 10 (2012), "Corporate Governance in Japan. (2012), "Strengthening the Supervisory Functions of the Board of Directors (1) (2) Outside Director and Corporate Auditor Systems, etc.," Shojihomu No. 1941 and No. 1942 (2011).

Attorney at Law, Director and Full-time Audit Committee Member of Coach A, Inc.

Graduated from Doshisha University Faculty of Law. After handling litigation-focused work at a law firm, transitioned to in-house counsel, spending over 20 years engaged in extensive legal and compliance work across four companies—Panasonic, Fast Retailing, USJ, and Coach A—each differing entirely in industry, scale, and culture. Currently serves as a full-time Audit and Supervisory Committee Member at Coach A, while also holding positions as an Outside Director at KPP Group Holdings Co., Ltd. and D.I. System Co., Ltd., and as an Outside Auditor at Prime Road Co., Ltd.

BDTI Executive Director

After earning a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Stanford University, he obtained a Juris Doctor and Master of Business Administration from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). After 11 years at J.P. Morgan, he founded JTP Inc., specializing in M&A advisory services. He is licensed to practice law in California and New York, and holds securities dealer licenses in London and Tokyo. Since 2010, he has served on the Financial Services Agency's Corporate Governance Liaison Conference, providing input on corporate law revisions to the Ministry of Justice and the Legislative Council's Corporate Law Subcommittee. Previously served as a Director of the American Chamber of Commerce in Japan, Chair of its Task Force on Direct Investment in Japan, Special Foreign Member of the Cabinet Office's Expert Panel on Direct Investment in Japan, Director of Alps Corporation, and Outside Director of LDH Corporation (formerly Livedoor) post-scandal, Cecile Corporation, and the IMAGICA Group (Stock Code: 6879). In 2013, as a proponent of the Financial Services Agency-led “Corporate Governance Code,” he provided detailed advice on the code's content to the responsible Diet member and the Financial Services Agency. He currently serves as an independent director of Advantest Corporation.

Representative Director, BDTI

Graduated from Waseda University, School of Political Science and Economics, and MIT Sloan School of Management. In 1985, he joined NTT as one of the first privatized employees and during his 10 years of service, he raised funds through foreign bonds, dealt with rating agencies, investor relations, financed overseas business investments, and served as the section manager in charge of business planning at the Shin-Etsu Branch (at that time). During this period, he was seconded to IBJ International plc. in London, U.K. (1986-1987) and studied at MIT Sloan School of Management (1990-1992). In 1996, he founded CICOM International (now CICOM Brains). In 2003, he co-founded the MOT program with the MIT Sloan School of Management. Since then, CICOM Brains has established offices in Singapore, Shanghai, Bangkok, and Jakarta, and is committed to building a foundation for business human resource development in Asia. CICOM BRAINS has been working hard to build a foundation for business human resource development in Asia. CICOM BRAINS will become a subsidiary of Human Associates Holdings, Inc. listed on the Mothers market in 2019, and he has been appointed as a director of Human Associates Holdings, Inc. The company will be acquired by MBK Wellness Holdings K.K., a subsidiary of Mitsui & Co. through TOB in 2022; he will retire as Representative Director of CICOM BRAINS K.K. in March 2025. In addition to this, he has served as Chairman of Nishida Gakuen Educational Corporation, which operates Alpha Medical and Welfare College in Machida City since 2015. He will serve as Chairman of the MIT Association of Japan for three years starting in 2019. He is the translator of "Distributed Leadership in Practice: The X Team.

Testimonials from Students

The lecture was not centered on dry classroom learning or theory, but incorporated recent topics, etc., so it was easy to visualize.

I was able to learn many perspectives as a director (especially as an independent outside director). I was able to recognize that the viewpoints and stances are very different from those of execution.

In the past, internally when there were discussions or decisions that did not fit with my sense of ethics, I sometimes remained silent because my opinion was in the minority. In the future, however, I will now try to speak up and argue to "do the right thing" based on my knowledge, even if I am in the minority.

I have had difficulty discussing these topics and perspectives internally, and in retrospect have tended to be lonely, but now I have a renewed sense of confidence. I have a hunch that this will help increase my persuasiveness when having discussions within the company.

I was able to learn about governance in general in depth over the course of the day. The small group lectures were also good because it was easy to ask questions to the lecturers and exchange opinions with other participants, and it was helpful that the lecturer described real-life examples at a variety of companies as well.

I think it is a comprehensive program, with systematic input (especially if your take the e-Learning in advance), case studies on the day of the event to force you to think things through by yourself, and the opportunity to hear the opinions of people who are aware of similar issues at other companies.