Role Play Course (Expert)

This is a director training program in which participants engage in role-play based on case studies designed by BDTI, inspired by real-world incidents. We warmly invite you to join, test your abilities as a board member, and deepen your understanding of boardroom dynamics.

Content

Fictional Case 1: A Letter from a Human Rights Activist

Uniwear, a clothing manufacturer and retailer, has received a letter from a human rights activist claiming that Xinjiang Uyghur cotton—linked to human rights abuses—is being used in its products. Let’s discuss at the board meeting how Uniwear should respond.

Fictional Case 2: A Shareholder Proposal from an Activist Fund

At Saji Soft, an IT system integrator, an activist fund holding 9.28% of shares submitted a shareholder proposal to appoint two directors. Although this proposal was rejected at the annual general meeting, it received a notably high level of support. Let’s discuss this further in a free-form discussion session.
Fictional Case 3: The Sudden Dismissal of a Professional Executive

Fictional Case 3: The Sudden Dismissal of a Professional Executive

At Libril Group, a manufacturer and seller of residential exterior and interior building materials, the professional executive—who was recruited by the founding family and was supposed to implement the mid-term business plan—suddenly resigned, prompting a motion at the board meeting. Let’s discuss this at the board.

Fictional Case 4: Hostile Takeover Bid (TOB)

At Shinkyo Bank, a retail bank with outstanding public funds, an unexpected hostile takeover bid (TOB) has been launched. The board of directors is obligated to provide shareholders with a formal opinion on the TOB. Let’s discuss at the board whether to support or oppose it.

summary
Subject:	Outside Directors, Inside Directors, and Board Secretariat Members Please note: Prior attendance in the “Governance School” or the “Advanced Director School” is not mandatory. However, we ask that participants possess a substantial level of knowledge on the subject.
Capacity:	Max 15
Dates:	Monday, October 6, 2025 – Fully Booked / Registration Closed The next session is currently being scheduled. Once confirmed, it will be announced on this website.
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

Click here to apply:

Instructors

Nicholas Benes, Executive Director & Founder

After working at J.P. Morgan for 11 years, he founded J.T.P., Inc. specializing in M&A advisory services. Since 2010, he has been a member of the Liaison Conference on Corporate Governance organized by the Financial Services Agency, which provides input to the Ministry of Justice and the Corporate Law Subcommittee of the Legislative Council of the Ministry of Justice on revisions to the Companies Act. He has served on the Board of Directors of the American Chamber of Commerce in Japan, chaired the FDI Task Force of the American Chamber of Commerce in Japan, served as a special foreign member of the Foreign Direct Investment Committee of the Cabinet Office, served on the Board of Directors of Alps, Inc. He has served as a director. Currently, he serves as an independent outside director of Advantest Corporation (Securities Code: 6857), and since 2013, he has proposed and advised on the concept of establishing a corporate governance code led by the Financial Services Agency as part of Japan's growth strategy. He has advised companies from the proponents of the Corporate Governance Code on the best practice standards of conduct that listed companies should aim for in order for the Corporate Governance Code to be "effective."

Sachiko Ichikawa, Partner, Tanabe & Partners

Graduated from the University of Tokyo, Faculty of Law. Obtained LLM from Georgetown University Law Center. Admitted to the Dai-Ichi Tokyo Bar Association and the State Bar of New York. She is a certified public accountant in the U.S. and specializes in crisis management and litigation handling of accounting fraud cases. She is a vice chair of the Foreign Law Subcommittee of the Labor Law Committee of the Dai-ichi Tokyo Bar Association, where she leads research on business and human rights, is a SASB FSA Credential Holders, a member of the GRI Labor Advisory Group, Economic Impact Working Group and is familiar with sustainability disclosure standards. She is currently an outside director of Tokyo Electron Limited, Olympus Corporation, Azbil Corporation and a board member of the Sony Education Foundation. Drawing on her experience, she has served as a lecturer at various BDTI Director training sessions, leading discussions on risks related to securities fraud litigation, company-with-committees practices, and the relationship between sustainability topics and the board of directors.

Testimonials from Students

Because there’s a chance of encountering people with different perspectives, I was able to read the materials repeatedly from various angles and simulate how each person might act. Even though I usually participate in board meetings and consider how to convey my own ideas effectively to the CEO and executives, I hadn’t thought much about other outside directors or auditors. I realized I could use this approach to better prepare for future board meetings.

There’s a sense of being directly involved that you can’t experience in a case discussion. It’s very impactful and provides many valuable insights.

Through role-play, I was able to realistically experience a world I had never encountered before.

The role-play felt just like the real thing. The participants were highly qualified, well-prepared, and the discussions were extremely realistic. Rather than merely acting out roles or managing the meeting, we were able to engage in discussions as if it were an actual practice session.