The goal of this report is to overview the characteristics of the evolution and current status of corporate governance of Japanese companies from the 1990s to recent years, by focusing on two keywords: diversification and hybridization. We also seek to identify the policy implications with...

This paper examines the determinants of board composition and the effects of outside directors using a sample of Japanese firms listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange (TSE) first section from 2005 to 2010. Our empirical results are mainly consistent with the hypothesis that firms choose board...

Corporate ownership and financing in Japan in the 20th century are striking. In the first half of the 20th century equity markets were active in raising more than 50% of the external financing of Japanese companies. Ownership was dispersed both by the standards of other developed economies at...

The Japanese economy is in the midst of a major merger and acquisition (M&A) wave for the first time in the postwar period. This paper puts a spotlight on Japan's M&A activity, which has surged since the end of 1999, and takes a look at the factors that have contributed to the surge, and its...

This paper compares the characteristics of M&A in 1991-2005 across five countries: Japan, France, Germany, the UK and USA. We ask what factors explain the growth of M&A markets across these countries, and what similarities and differences exist in the ways the M&A market operates. We find that...

RIETI recently conducted a comprehensive survey on corporate governance in Japan. It covers various topics concerning corporate governance and managerial practices such as managerial objectives, cross-shareholding, responses to shareholder's activism and hostile takeovers, executive compensation...

In the course of postwar economic development, Japan has never faced a situation where mergers and acquisitions (M&As) pervade among domestic companies. But from the later half of the 1990s, the number of M&As began to rise sharply and Japan is now entering an M&A boom for the first time in the...

The Japanese economy is currently experiencing a major merger and acquisition (M&A) boom unprecedented in its postwar economic development. The purpose of this paper is to cast light, from a number of angles, on the determinants of the rapid increase in M&A activity in Japan since the end of the...

The rapid increase in the number of mergers and acquisitions (M&As) from the 1990s onward can be attributed primarily to a type of shock to the growth and/or profitability of certain industries and corporations. Characteristics of industries and corporations subject to particularly aggressive...

Financial factors and ownership structure are both part of the determinants of corporate R&D investment. Considering listed firms in the R&D intensive industries during the 2000s, this paper examines whether financial factors and ownership structure explain R&D investment in Japan. Following the...