Value Relevance of Earnings Information in Japan -- A Survey: The Empirical Findings by Foreign Researchers --

The purpose of this paper is to confirm how international academicians evaluate the Japanese accounting system. This paper surveys prior studies on the international comparison (including Japan) of accounting information and reexamines the empirical findings on the usefulness of earnings information in Japan, focusing on the value relevance of earnings. Many researchers have pointed out that code law, investor protection in financial regulation environments and Japanese corporate governance, for example Keiretsu and main-bank, provide negative effects on the value relevance of earnings. At present, that image seems to be a stereotype in the world. However, the causal relation between each factor and the information value of earnings is not clear yet. Moreover, many other studies show the empirical evidence that denies such a stereotype. This survey paper clarifies the unresolved problems in prior studies and gives further research issues and implications.