Japan: Corporate Governance and Gradual Transformation

This is the manuscript version of the Japan section in "Principles of Contemporary Corporate Governance" (4th ed 2018) by Jean Jacques du Plessis, Anil Hargovan and Jason Harris. It is reproduced here with permission of CUP, as we are rewriting a much abridged section for the forthcoming 5th ed. In this manuscript, readers can find more information on historical transformations in Japanese corporate law and practice (including the post-WW2 rise and partial fall of "lifelong employment", cross-shareholdings and key supplier relationships, and "main banks"), Japan's multiple corporate forms (increasingly diversifying away from German law roots), and "gradual transformation" also around corporate boards.