Tag - corporate-governance

 
 

CORPORATE GOVERNANCE

Transport ministry officials head to Toyota's headquarters in Aichi Prefecture on Tuesday for on-site inspections.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 4, 2024
Auto certification in spotlight as Toyota raided over data tampering
Questions have emerged over whether Japan's regulatory standards and their subjective interpretation might be hindering automakers.
Toyota Motor Chairman Akio Toyoda apologizes during a news conference in Tokyo on Monday.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 3, 2024
Japan's auto-testing scandal deepens, resulting in some shipment halts
Toyota and four other Japanese automakers have admitted to falsifying testing data and performing tests under inappropriate conditions, among other infractions.
Nissan CEO Makoto Uchida said that the automaker will continue to communicate with its suppliers to see whether unfair practices persist and set up a new team directly under him to accelerate reforms on its relations with its subcontractors.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 1, 2024
Nissan challenges TV Tokyo report on subcontractors
The automaker denied allegations that it continued to pressure its suppliers into slashing prices even after receiving a warning from the fair trade regulator.
Ashwani Gupta, then-chief operating officer of Nissan, in April 2023
BUSINESS / Companies
May 31, 2024
Nissan paid ex-COO $3.7 million to quit after sexual harassment claims
Ashwani Gupta's compensation figure for leaving the company is now public in a notice of the annual shareholders’ meeting, which showed he will also receive allowances.
Tomohide Miyata, who became Eneos Holding's CEO in April
BUSINESS / Companies
May 31, 2024
Eneos seeks female directors in wake of harassment scandals
Japan's top oil refiner has nominated four women and seven outside directors to be elected by shareholders to a smaller 10-seat board.
Toyota Chairman Akio Toyoda during a news conference in Nagoya in January
BUSINESS / Companies
May 29, 2024
Toyota investors urged to vote against founding family chair
The recommendations come ahead of Toyota’s annual shareholders meeting scheduled for June 18 at its headquarters in the city of Toyota in Aichi Prefecture.
Masanori Katayama, chairman of the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association, said the association will work with the Japan Auto Parts Industries Association to address the problem of subcontractor bullying.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 24, 2024
Japan’s automakers vow to stop squeezing their suppliers
Member companies of the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association have agreed to treat subcontractors more fairly when the latter pass on cost increases.
As companies lose once-stable investors through the unwinding of cross-shareholdings, they are now hoping that rewarding long-term individual shareholders will help make them more resilient in possible proxy battles.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 24, 2024
Japanese firms woo individuals as cross-shareholdings shrink
In a bid to protect themselves from activist investors, firms are trying to build loyalty with long-term individual shareholders by doling out gifts.
Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon, the chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, speaks to reporters on Capitol Hill in Washington on May 1. Wyden has been investigating links between carmakers and forced labor in China.
BUSINESS
May 21, 2024
U.S. Senate probe finds forced labor ties in automakers' imports
The report said BMW, Jaguar Land Rover and Volkswagen had used components from a Chinese supplier banned in the U.S.
Toshiba announced on Thursday that it would cut up to 4,000 jobs as part of a restructuring plan.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 17, 2024
Toshiba takes advantage of private status to chart new course
The company has announced that it will cut up to 4,000 jobs as part of a restructuring.
A slogan reads "Accelerate Industrial Transformation With AI" at the Microsoft booth at the Hannover Messe 2024 trade fair in Hannover, Germany, on April 22.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 16, 2024
Microsoft’s AI push imperils climate goal as carbon emissions jump
The company’s total planet-warming impact is about 30% higher today than it was in 2020.
Japanese companies are raising payouts to shareholders as the Tokyo Stock Exchange pressures firms to improve capital efficiency and valuations.
BUSINESS / Markets
May 15, 2024
Japan firms boost dividends and buybacks, aiding Topix amid TSE pressure
The moves come as the Tokyo Stock Exchange pressures companies to improve capital efficiency and valuations, and have spurred a rebound in the Topix index.
An employee at Otsuka Foods has filed a damages suit against the company with the Otsu District Court in Shiga Prefecture.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
May 14, 2024
Otsuka Foods whistleblower sues company for work-related depression
The man has claimed he suffered from depression after being reassigned and given little work following a report over the company's alleged wrongdoing.
The official whistleblower protection system is not well-known among workers in Japan, a survey finds.
JAPAN
May 14, 2024
Less than 40% of Japan's employees know about whistleblower protection system
The survey showed a tendency for larger companies to have more employees familiar with the system.
Sony employees simulate the physical sensations of pregnancy at the company’s headquarters in Tokyo in February. The simple power of numbers can begin to remake workplace cultures, but many Japanese women still struggle to balance their careers with domestic obligations.
JAPAN / Society
May 8, 2024
It took decades, but Japan’s working women are making progress
Employers have taken steps to change a male-dominated workplace culture. But women still struggle to balance their careers with domestic obligations.
Sumitomo headquarters in Tokyo on Tuesday
BUSINESS
May 2, 2024
Sumitomo to bolster shareholder returns in new midterm plan
Sumitomo will allocate ¥700 billion ($4.5 billion) of returns over the next three years, with a goal of total shareholder return ratio of 40%.
Tatsufumi Shibata, deputy director-general at the Financial Services Agency, is pushing for greater disclosure by companies of their cross-shareholding practices.
BUSINESS
May 2, 2024
Japan suspects firms are evading disclosure of cross-shareholdings
Some companies are thought to be masking cross-shareholdings as being owned for purely trading purposes.
Wecars President and CEO Shinjiro Tanaka (center) at a news conference in Tokyo on Wednesday
BUSINESS / Companies
May 1, 2024
New firm formed to take over Bigmotor's operations
Wecars took over around 250 outlets and some 4,200 employees from Bigmotor, and its board of directors does not include former members of Bigmotor's board.
Activist investor campaigns are becoming more commonplace in Japan as the government and the Tokyo Stock Exchange encourage companies to boost shareholder returns.
BUSINESS / Companies
Apr 30, 2024
Elliott Management's Sumitomo stake reflects growing activism in Japan
Elliott has built a large holding in Sumitomo after investing several tens of billions of yen in the trading house backed by Warren Buffett.
The combined market capitalization of shares listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange's Prime section stood at roughly ¥970 trillion at the end of last month.
BUSINESS
Apr 28, 2024
TSE Prime's market cap nears ¥1 quadrillion two years after shake-up
The total market capitalization of the new top tier has grown some 40% while the number of companies fell 10%.

Longform

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