Japan’s stock market hit an all-time high in mid-August. Valuations were boosted by US President Donald Trump’s decision to delay new trade tariffs on China, but also reflect the country’s more benign economic landscape and...more
9/17/2025
/ Acquisitions ,
Corporate Governance ,
Cross-Border Transactions ,
Foreign Investment ,
International Trade ,
Investment ,
Japan ,
Mergers ,
Private Equity ,
Tariffs ,
Trade Relations
According to the news reports, during the June 2025 annual general meeting season, shareholders made a total of 399 proposals to 114 Japanese publicly listed companies. This marks the fourth consecutive year of...more
9/9/2025
/ Activist Investors ,
Asia Pacific ,
Board of Directors ,
Corporate Governance ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Institutional Investors ,
Japan ,
Proxy Season ,
Proxy Voting ,
Shareholder Meetings ,
Shareholder Proposals ,
Shareholder Rights ,
Shareholders
Japan’s stock market hit an all-time high in mid-August. Valuations were boosted by President Donald Trump’s decision to delay new trade tariffs on China, but also reflect the country’s more benign economic landscape and...more
9/2/2025
/ Acquisitions ,
Asia Pacific ,
Corporate Governance ,
Cross-Border Transactions ,
Global Dealmaking ,
International Trade ,
Japan ,
Mergers ,
Private Equity ,
Supply Chain ,
Tariffs
Summary of June 2024 Annual General Shareholder Meeting Season Shareholder Proposals -
- While the total number of shareholder proposals is comparable to the June 2023 general meeting season, the number of companies...more
11/7/2024
/ Corporate Governance ,
Corporate Misconduct ,
Enforcement ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Foreign Investment ,
General Meetings ,
Investors ,
Japan ,
Proxy Season ,
Proxy Voting ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Shareholder Proposals ,
Shareholders
The Number of Shareholder Proposals Made by Activist Shareholders, Votes Against Management Proposals and Listed Companies Facing Shareholder Proposals Each Continue to Trend Upward in Japan -
During the June 2023 annual...more
12/5/2023
/ Board of Directors ,
Corporate Governance ,
Diversity ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Investors ,
Japan ,
Popular ,
Proxy Season ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Shareholder Activism ,
Shareholder Proposals
The number of shareholder proposals made by activist shareholders, votes against management proposals and the number of publicly listed companies facing shareholder proposal continues its upward trend....more
12/27/2022
/ Corporate Counsel ,
Corporate Governance ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Foreign Investment ,
General Meetings ,
Investors ,
Japan ,
Proxy Season ,
Proxy Voting ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Shareholder Activism ,
Shareholder Proposals ,
Shareholders
Japan continues to tighten foreign direct investment reviews but also offers a prior notification exemption -
Japan's Ministry of Finance (MOF) and its ministries with jurisdiction over the target entity's business review...more
Forty-eight Japanese companies received shareholder proposals in the June 2021 general meetings (162 proposals in total). This represents a modest decrease compared to last year, when 55 companies received shareholder...more
11/17/2021
/ Activist Investors ,
Board of Directors ,
Corporate Governance ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Foreign Corporations ,
Green Finance ,
Investment ,
Investors ,
Shareholder Meetings ,
Shareholder Proposals ,
Shareholders ,
Stock Exchange
Japan expanded the scope of industries subject to prior notification for Inward Direct Investment in 2019 -
Under the Foreign Exchange and Foreign Trade Act (FEFTA), the Ministry of Finance (MOF) and the relevant...more
1/14/2020
/ Amended Rules ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
Beneficial Owner ,
FEFTA ,
Foreign Acquisitions ,
Foreign Direct Investment ,
Foreign Investment ,
Inbound Investments ,
Japan ,
Mergers ,
METI ,
Ministry of Finance ,
National Security ,
National Security Review Proceedings ,
Notice Requirements ,
Technology Sector ,
Telecommunications
Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry completely revised the 2007 MBO guidelines on June 28, 2019. The new guidelines, now termed "Fair M&A Guidelines," include within their scope acquisitions by controlling...more
10/3/2019
/ Acquisitions ,
Board of Directors ,
Buyers ,
Controlling Stockholders ,
Fairness Hearings ,
Fairness Standard ,
Foreign Investment ,
Japan ,
Mergers ,
METI ,
New Guidance ,
Private Equity ,
Purchase Price ,
Special Committees ,
Valuation Experts
Another record breaking year for shareholder proposals, including significant support for activists' and other dissident proposals -
The number of shareholder proposals made by activist shareholders, votes against...more
9/14/2019
/ Corporate Governance ,
Director Nominations ,
Executive Compensation ,
Institutional Investors ,
Japan ,
Proxy Season ,
Proxy Voting ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Share Buybacks ,
Shareholder Activism ,
Shareholder Distributions ,
Shareholder Proposals ,
Stock Repurchases
On May 27, 2019, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry of Japan (METI) expanded the scope of the industries for which submission of a prior notification is required for foreign direct investment. This recent revision of...more
6/27/2019
/ Cybersecurity ,
Emerging Technology Companies ,
Foreign Direct Investment ,
Foreign Investment ,
Japan ,
METI ,
National Security ,
Notification Requirements ,
Popular ,
Public Safety ,
Software ,
Technology Sector ,
Telecommunications
The European Commission and the Personal Information Protection Commission of Japan have agreed mutual adequacy decisions regarding the transfer of personal data. This is a significant development, and allows businesses to...more
1/31/2019
/ Adequacy Requirement ,
Bilateral Agreements ,
EU ,
European Commission ,
European Economic Area (EEA) ,
General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) ,
International Data Transfers ,
Japan ,
Mutual Recognition Agreement ,
Personal Data ,
Privacy Laws ,
Reciprocity Rules