Since Abenomics launched corporate governance reforms as the third arrow of its policies mix, a series of reform measures were introduced such as the Stewardship Code, Corporate Governance Code, and the organization of JPX 400 by the Tokyo Stock Exchange. In this presentation, I firstly summarize recent changes of governance arrangements in Japanese firms, focusing on the trend of listing and de-listing, ownership changes, rapid deleveraging, the rise and fall of activism, gradual increase of independent directors, and modest use of high-powered incentives. I characterize these changes as a hybridization of corporate governance. Then, I suggest an agenda for how to fine tune hybrid structures: the reestablishment of mega-banks and client firms, the role of block shareholders, a new long-term commitment scheme post cross shareholding, the choice of management or monitoring boards, and the use of pay for performance associated with long-term employment.

 

Hideaki Mi

yajima is Director, Waseda Institute for Advanced Study(WIAS), Professor of Japanese Economy, Ph.D. in Commerce, Graduate School of Commerce, Waseda University. He teaches about the Japanese economy and corporate governance in Japan. He finished his Ph.D coursework at the University of Tokyo in economics, got a position as Research Associate at the University of Tokyo Institute of Social Sciences, and then moved to Waseda University. He stayed at Reischauer Institute of Japanese Studies, Harvard University, as a visiting scholar from 1992-94 and 2004-05. He was asked to consult by several institutions such as the World Bank, Hawaii University, Hebrew University, and Korean Development Institute. He was also appointed at numerous positions: Faculty Fellow, Research Institute of Economy, Trade & Industry, a Special Research Fellow of Policy Research Institute (Ministry of Finance), Research Fellow of EHESS (Paris), and an Adjunct Professor of Chung-Ang University (Seoul). He has written several books and numerous papers including: The Ownership of Japanese Corporations in the 20th Century, Review of Financial Studies, 2014, Benchmarking Business Unit Governance in Turbulent Times: The Case of Japanese Firms, Benchmarking: An International Journal, 2012, The Global Financial Crisis and the Evolution of Corporate Governance in Japan, laviedesidees.fr, 2009, Corporate Governance in Japan, Oxford University Press, 2007 (co-edited), Changes and Continuity in Japan, Routledge Curzon Press, 2002 (co-edited), Policies for Competitiveness, Oxford University Press, 1999 (co-edited).