EBOOK Corporate Governance and Managerial Reform in Japan

Japanese corporate governance and managerial practice is at a critical juncture.          At the start of the decade pressures mounted for Japan to move to a        shareholder-value driven, 'Anglo-American' system of corporate governance.          Subsequent changes, however, may be seen as an adjustment and renewal of the        post-war model of the Japanese firm. In adapting to global corporate governance        standards, Japanese managers have also been reshaping them according to their own        agenda of reform andrestructuring of decision-making processes.The board's role is        seen in terms of strategic planning rather than monitoring, and external directors        are viewed as advisers, not as representatives of the shareholders. Managers have        adopted a variety of defences against hostile takeovers, including poison pills in        some cases. Although shareholder influence is more extensive than it was, central        aspects of the Japanese 'community firm' remain in place. The commitment to stable        or 'lifetime' employment for a core of employees, although comingunder severe        pressure, is still an important point of reference for Japanese management.Corporate        Governance and Managerial Reform in Japan is based on detailed and intensive field        work in large Japanese companies and interviews with investors, civil servants, and        policy makers in the period following the adoption of significant corporate law        reforms in the early 2000s up to the months just before the global financial crisis        of 2008. The Japanese experience suggests that there are limits to the global        convergence of company law systems, and that the widespread associationof        Anglo-American practices with the 'modernization' of corporate governance has been        misplaced. This conclusion is unlikely to be altered - it may be reinforced - by        reactions to the financial crisis.