OSAKA -- Shareholders of restructuring general contractors Hazama Corp. and Kumagai Gumi Co. said Wednesday that they will seek damages of 120 million yen from executives of the two firms for making hefty political donations when the companies were not paying dividends.
The shareholders plan to send a letter that requests the companies' auditors to file a lawsuit and threatens independent action if the auditors do not comply within 30 days, they said.
The shareholders are members of Osaka-based Kabunushi (Shareholder) Ombudsman. The civic group has experience filing a number of high-profile lawsuits against major Japanese companies, including Sogo Co. and Nomura Securities Co., alleging corporate negligence in observing the rights of individual shareholders.