Corporate governance in the 21st century Japan's gradual transformation edited by Luke Nottage, Leon Wolff, Kent Anderson.

Title from cover.

Includes bibliographical references (p. 246-278) and index.

1. Introduction. Japan's gradual transformation in corporate governance / Luke Nottage, Leon Wolff and Kent Anderson -- 2. Perspectives and approaches : a framework for comparing Japanese corporate governance / Luke Nottage -- 3. The death of lifelong employment in Japan? / Leon Wolff -- 4. Perverse rescue in the lost decade : main banks in the post-bubble era / Dan W. Puchniak -- 5. Corporate governance and closely-held companies in Japan : the untold story / Tomoyo Matsui -- 6. Panacea or placebo? : an empirical analysis of the effect of the Japanese committee system corporate governance law reform / Peter Lawley -- 7. Streamlining the market for corporate control : a takeovers panel for Japan? / Geread Dooley -- 8. Corporate governance at the coalface : comparing Japan's complex case law on hostile takeovers and defensive measures / Mitsuhiro Kamiya and Tokutaka Ito -- 9. Open to Being Closed? foreign control and adaptive efficiency in Japanese corporate governance Christopher Pokarier -- 10. Conclusions : Japan's largest companies, then and now / Souichirou Kozuka.

The 'lost decade' of economic stagnation in Japan during the 1990s has become a 'found decade' for regulatory and institutional reform. Nowhere is this more evident than in corporate law. In 2005, for example, a spate of reforms to the Commercial Code culminated in the new Company Act, a statute promising greater organisational flexibility and shareholder empowerment for Japanese corporations competing in a more globalised economy. But does this new law herald a more 'Americanised' system of corporate governance? Has Japan embraced shareholder primacy over its traditional loyalty to other key stakeholders such as 'main banks', core employees, and partners within diffuse corporate (keiretsu) groups? This book argues that a more complex 'gradual transformation' is unfolding in Japan - a process evident in many other post-industrial economies.