The Financial Services Agency announced Wednesday it has rejected financier Yoshiaki Murakami's application to acquire a more than 20 percent stake in Osaka Securities Exchange Co.
The financial watchdog made the decision after a public hearing Aug. 17, during which its officials said that because Murakami's fund invests in OSE-listed issues, his acquisition of a greater stake in the operator could adversely affect the bourse's operation.
Industry insiders said the FSA's rejection of the application may prompt Murakami, once an official at the former Ministry of International Trade and Industry who is well known for advocating shareholder rights, to take countermeasures, including an administrative lawsuit.