SJCC After-Work: Corporate Governance Reforms in Japan

“Corporate Governance Reforms: How the Way Japanese Corporations Take Decisions is Changing”

Prime Minister Abe’s corporate governance reforms are arguably one of the biggest success stories of his reform program to promote Japan’s economic growth. Japan’s Government in coordination with the Tokyo Stock Exchange and the Financial Services Agency changed the legal and regulatory framework for the supervision of management for stock market-traded companies, faster than many thought this could be done.

Japanese corporations are changing their governance structure, bring in independent Board Directors with fresh ideas and independent views and experience. The share of foreigners on Japan’s Board of Directors is still low (0.5%) but increasing as they bring global expertise to the top level of increasingly globalizing Japanese companies.

The presentation is based on Gerhard Fasol’s experience as Board Director and Member of the Supervisory and Audit Committee of a stock market listed Japanese group. It will explain some details of how Japanese stock market listed corporations take decisions, the different models for management supervision available under Japanese law, and how this works in daily practice.

Understanding how Japanese corporations take decisions, is a key success factor for companies seeking to achieve agreements with Japanese corporations that need Board approval, e.g. for investments, M&A, partnerships or large purchases, as well as for investors in listed Japanese company stock, and employees of Japanese companies. Knowledge about Japanese Corporate Governance is also crucial for the success of Foreign subsidiaries in Japan.

About the speaker:

Dr. Gerhard Fasol, of Austrian origin living in Tokyo, graduated with a PhD in Physics of Cambridge University. He first came to Japan in 1984 to help build a research cooperation with NTT. In 1997 he founded the company Eurotechnology Japan KK and has been working with hundreds of Japanese and foreign companies on cross-border business development and M&A projects. For four years he served as Board Director of a Japanese stock market listed company.

He is also Guest-Professor at Kyushu University and was tenured faculty at Cambridge University, Fellow and Director of Studies at Trinity College Cambridge, and also Guest Professor in Physics at the École Normale Supérieure in Paris. In recent years he has been focusing on questions of Corporate Governance at Japanese companies, a topic about which he is frequently presenting at a wide range of organizations in and outside Japan. He served on the Advisory Board to the former Chairman of JETRO Mr Noboru Hatakeyama.

Program: 

6:30 pm: Registration
6:45 pm: Presentation by Dr. Fasol, followed by discussion
7:45 pm: End of event
8:00 pm: Dinner (optional – not included in the fee)

Access: 

• Public transport: Tram 15 from Geneva Cornavin Station (Direction Nation), exit at Butini Station (5 min)
• By car:  No parking available at the premises, public parking at Geneva Station