Japan is increasing pressure on companies with extensive cross-shareholdings.
The government wants companies to be more transparent about why they hold stakes in other firms. The practice has long been criticized as contributing to poor corporate governance by protecting management.
The country’s Financial Services Agency requires companies to list their top 60 shareholdings considered strategic and to provide reasons for owning each stock. It suspects some companies of evading disclosure by masking cross-shareholdings as being owned for purely trading purposes.