Corporate Governance: What Can Be Learned from Japan?

This book explores current thinking on corporate governance by way of an empirical examination of the governance practices of fourteen Japanese companies. The analysis is structured around four principal themes, namely the role of shareholders, the role of the main bank, the role of employees, and the role of senior management in the governance of these companies. The book suggests that a system of reciprocal responsibilities, obligations, and trust within and between companies act as an important means by which most Japanese companies are governed.

Simon Learmount is Daiwa Fellow at the ESRC Centre for Business Research, University of Cambridge, and is a Shimomura Fellow at the Development Bank of Japan. He has a Ph.D. and an MBA from the University of Cambridge. Formerly he worked as Sales and Marketing Director of an international healthcare organization, and Managing Director of an international educational organization. In both positions he worked extensively in Japan.