Related Past Research

In the fiscal year ended March 2003, RIETI held a policy symposium under the theme of "Corporate Governance from an International Perspective: Diversity or Convergence," in which extensive discussion took place on how Japanese-style corporate governance, which was lauded in the 1980s, can or should be changed in the future, both institutionally and operationally. Participants including managers of Japanese companies and researchers from the U.S., Europe, and East Asian countries discussed the international trend and future directions of corporate governance from both practical and theoretical viewpoints.

In the fiscal year ended March 2004, a study group on complementarities between legal systems and management continued research on corporate governance in Japan, a theme continued from the preceding fiscal year. The resulting research findings have been incorporated into Corporate Governance in Japan: Institutional Change and Organizational Diversity (edited by Aoki, Jackson, and Miyajima) set to be published by Oxford University Press.

In the fiscal year ended March 2005, another policy symposium, "Emerging Patterns of Corporate Governance among Japanese Firms - Converging to Any Specific Model?" was held to present research findings. In parallel with research on corporate governance, RIETI was preparing to conduct empirical research into the determinants and economic roles of M&As, which are rapidly increasing, conducting hearings with individuals concerned and developing a new database. On this foundation Faculty Fellow MIYAJIMA Hideaki and ARIKAWA Yasuhiro, then a faculty fellow at RIETI, embarked on a new empirical study on the determinants of M&As (Arikawa and Miyajima 2006). They further proceeded to compile their findings into a book titled Nihon no M&A [M&As in Japan], which also incorporates the findings made by a group of researchers led by RIETI Faculty Fellow FUKAO Kyoji in a series of studies - empirical analysis of economic outcomes of M&As, analysis of factors behind the consolidation of the banking industry and its economic effects, study on the relationships between M&As and employment adjustments, and case studies on M&As and business restructuring - as well as findings from an international comparative study conducted by then RIETI Visiting Fellow Gregory JACKSON. With its backbone in place, the book is now in the stage of final editing and will soon be published by Toyo Keizai Inc.

In the fiscal year ended March 2006, RIETI and the Center for Economic Policy Research (CEPR) jointly held an international conference titled "Corporate Finance and Governance: Europe-Japan Economic Comparisons," to promote research on corporate governance. Dr. Jenny CORBETT (University of Oxford, CEPR, and Australia-Japan Research Centre) and Dr. Miyajima spearheaded the conference, inviting leading researchers on corporate finance and governance from Europe and the U.S., providing a major opportunity to discuss issues surrounding corporate governance primarily in Japan and Europe. Also, as part of the conference, a roundtable session brought together scholars and practitioners both from Japan and Europe to discuss the possibility of the international integration of a corporate governance code and to examine the current status of M&As and legal and institutional responses.

Moreover, RIETI further developed research toward the planned publication of the previously mentioned book, Nihon no M&A.