Tag - corporate-governance

 
 

CORPORATE GOVERNANCE

The Fair Trade Commission is mulling a surcharge of some ¥200 million on Harley-Davidson Japan over abusing a superior bargaining position, in violation of the antimonopoly law.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 30, 2025
FTC mulling fines on Harley-Davidson Japan
The FTC is mulling a surcharge of some ¥200 million on Harley-Davidson Japan over abusing a superior bargaining position.
An Italian court on Thursday found three Japanese nationals guilty over polluting water with PFAS, often referred to as "forever chemicals."
ENVIRONMENT
Jun 27, 2025
Three Japanese nationals found guilty over PFAS pollution in Italy
The three were among 11 defendants sentenced to prison terms of between two years and 18 years over their roles in the PFAS contamination.
Trucks parked at Japan Post's post office in Tokyo's Koto Ward earlier this month
JAPAN
Jun 25, 2025
Japan Post stripped of truck transport business license
The company will not be allowed to operate its approximately 2,500 trucks and other vehicles for five years.
Fuji Media Holdings President Osamu Kanemitsu (center) and Kenji Shimizu (right), the president of Fuji TV, who serves on the board of Fuji TV's parent, at the annual shareholders meeting on Wednesday in Tokyo
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 25, 2025
Fuji TV parent secures approval for new board members at shareholders meeting
The focus was on how much support there was for the proposal of activist Dalton Investments, which reportedly holds 7.5% of shares in the company.
U.S. President Donald Trump’s second-term tech policy consolidates AI regulatory power in the White House, empowering American tech giants at the expense of state authority, international cooperation and democratic oversight.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 25, 2025
The 'Washington Effect' could decide the AI race
While Trump administration officials pressure foreign governments to ease up on U.S. firms, Congress moves to block state-level oversight altogether.
Nomura Holdings shareholders have voted down a name change plan following a pair of scandals at the company.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 24, 2025
Nomura shareholders reject proposal to change company name
Investors also voted in favor of retaining CEO Kentaro Okuda and Chairman Koji Nagai as board members, the company said on its website.
U.S. proxy adviser Institutional Shareholder Services had urged Japan Exchange Group investors to vote against CEO Hiromi Yamaji’s re-election after an employee was found guilty of insider trading.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 24, 2025
Japan bourse CEO reappointed with slimmer vote as rating falls
Investors voted with their feet as the stock’s 18.6% decline over the past year underperformed the broad Topix’s 1.6% rise.
"I am confident that we have what we need to rebuild our company," said Nissan CEO Ivan Espinosa at its headquarters in Yokohama on Tuesday.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 24, 2025
Investors grill new Nissan CEO over job cuts, losses and mounting debt
"We understand your frustration,” Espinosa told stakeholders. "It will not be easy to deliver. But I am confident that we have what we need to rebuild our company.”
Taiyo Holdings Chief Executive Officer Eiji Sato
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 23, 2025
Japan activist clout shown in shareholder rejection of Taiyo CEO
Voting out a company’s CEO candidate, something that doesn’t happen often in Japan, is another sign of how activist investors are pushing to change company policies.
Shareholders enter a venue of Honda's annual general meeting in Tokyo on Thursday. Companies are seeking to build shareholder support as activists inundate them with an unprecedented number of proposals.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 23, 2025
Japanese companies offer gifts to boost their ranks of loyal retail investors
A survey by Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Bank showed 11% of firms gave out gifts at shareholder meetings in 2024, up from 4% in 2021.
Japan Display holds a general shareholders' meeting on Saturday in Tokyo.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 22, 2025
JDI vows turnaround at shareholders' meeting
The struggling maker of liquid crystal display panels will shutter its flagship Mobara plant and cut about 1,500 jobs in Japan.
The Fuji TV building in May. The company has taken responsibility for having enabled "sexual violence" toward an unnamed victim, who is a former Fuji TV worker, along with causing her emotional distress due to its initial reactions to the incident.
JAPAN / Media
Jun 20, 2025
Fuji TV settles ‘sexual violence’ case with apology and compensation to victim
Fuji TV President Kenji Shimizu apologized to the unnamed woman over the incident and how the company handled it.
Japan’s governance reforms launched in 2015 sparked a surge in M&A and investor activism, but critics warn the resulting foreign takeovers and short-term focus may come at a cost.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jun 20, 2025
Has Japan's corporate revolution worked too well?
From private equity to activist investors to consolidation among companies fearful they’ll be targeted next, no acquisition seems beyond the pale.
Many Japanese firms are delisting their shares from the Tokyo Stock Exchange under the  bourse’s broad push to make the market more appealing for foreign investors by ensuring that listed companies offer high shareholder returns.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 19, 2025
Japan firms exit Tokyo exchange at record pace in delisting rush
If firms continue to exit the TSE at this pace, the figure for 2025 will exceed last year’s annual record of 94 companies.
Shareholders arrive at Toyota's annual shareholders' meeting on June 12 in the city of Toyota, Aichi Prefecture.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 18, 2025
Record demands from activist investors driving focus on governance and efficiency
The country’s jammed annual general meeting season matters more than ever this year as investors seek signs that Japanese stocks can get out of a rut.
The Fair Trade Commission is investigating supermarket operator Lopia for unfair trade practices involving its suppliers.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jun 16, 2025
Supermarket operator Lopia probed over unfair trade
The company is alleged to have had suppliers dispatch workers to its stores to perform tasks for store openings and refurbishment without compensation.
Toyota Motor Chairman Akio Toyoda’s reelection garnered almost 97% of voted shares during the carmaker’s annual meeting, the company said in a statement Friday.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 13, 2025
Toyota chair reclaims support after scandals that hurt last vote
The rebound in Toyoda’s popularity suggest tacit shareholder approval of how he handled the certification issues.
Sumitomo Realty has earmarked 19 midsize office buildings in Tokyo for divestment, sources said.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 13, 2025
Sumitomo Realty seeks office sale after Elliott takes stake
The developer has earmarked 19 midsize office buildings for the divestment.
Shareholders passed a motion to reappoint Chairman Akio Toyoda during Toyota Motor's general shareholders' meeting on Thursday.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 12, 2025
No mention of buyout as Toyota shareholders reappoint Chairman Akio Toyoda
Questions about the privatization of Toyota Industries and Toyoda’s role in it never came up, in stark contrast to earlier this week at Toyota Industries’ annual meeting.
Nippon Steel Vice Chairman Takahiro Mori at U.S. Steel's Irvin Works facility in West Mifflin, Pennsylvania, on May 30
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 11, 2025
3D urges shareholders to reject new term for Nippon Steel heads
Nippon Steel’s large-scale capital investment plan "significantly” exceeds the company’s market value, 3D said in a statement.

Longform

Mount Fuji is considered one of Japan's most iconic symbols and is a major draw for tourists. It's still a mountain, though, and potential hikers need to properly prepare for any climb.
What it takes to save lives on Mount Fuji