Annual shareholders' meetings kicked off in earnest this week, with the annual rite expected to peak June 29 as more than 1,000 listed companies face their investors.

Among the earliest major companies to hold their meetings were NTT DoCoMo Inc. and Nissan Motor Co., which convened their gatherings Tuesday.

DoCoMo's meeting started at 10 a.m. in Tokyo and was attended by about 1,680 shareholders.