The Financial Services Agency said Friday it will strongly urge companies to respond to its orders to review financial statements and will conduct on-site inspections on those who refuse.
The agency has asked 4,543 publicly traded companies to recheck their financial statements for errors in the wake of a series of financial reporting scandals involving Seibu Railway Co.
As of Wednesday, 525 companies had submitted amended financial reports and 3,873 had replied there was no need for corrections. But 145 companies haven't responded yet, FSA officials said.
The financial watchdog suspects that some of those who haven't responded yet may have fabricated their reports, the officials said.
In October, Seibu Railway Co. said it had underreported the stakes of its top 10 shareholders in order to meet a Tokyo Stock Exchange listing requirement. Following the admission, a dozen companies also corrected financial statements regarding their shareholdings.
The TSE delisted Seibu Railway on Dec. 17.
In a related move, the FSA also unveiled the same day a set of measures to ensure the appropriate disclosure of corporate information.
In January, the FSA will submit a bill to amend the Securities Exchange Law so a system can be introduced that will allow the agency to fine companies that submit false statements, the officials said. The system would be put in place by fiscal 2005.