Webinar - Japan’s economic performance-Does corporate governance matter? Starts at 0:16:08:27

Speaker: Dr. Franz Waldenberger, Director of the German Institute for Japanese Studies (DIJ), Tokyo
Abstract:
The reform of Japan’s system of corporate governance was one of the pillars of former PM Abe’s growth strategy. It was based on two assumptions: that Japan’s corporate governance was flawed and obstructing innovation and growth, and that legal reforms could remedy the problems. My presentation will take a closer look at both assumptions. I will argue that Japan’s economic performance - not in terms of growth as such, but specifically in terms of productivity - indicate that Japanese companies are not making best use of the excellent resources available to them. I will then show that corporate governance is not at the root of the problem, but that there is a deeper-rooted structural issue - the continuing predominance of in-house careers of Japanese top management, which has been shaping the way Japanese companies are governed, while also influencing the way resources are allocated within and across companies. In the final part, I will discuss what these findings mean for the two assumptions underlying recent corporate governance reforms.
Rede de Estudos em Sociologia Econômica do Rio de Janeiro RESERJ - Programa de Pós-Graduação em Sociologia Política PPGSP of the IUPERJ-UCAM, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Sociologia e Antropologia PPGSA of the Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro and, the Programa de Pós-Graduação em Sociologia PPGS of the Universidade Federal Fluminense UFF – jointly with the Programa de Pós-graduação em Estudos Comparados sobre as Américas PPGECSA of the Universidade de Brasília UnB and with the support of the Comitê de Pesquisa Sociologia Econômica CPSE of the Sociedade Brasileira de Sociologia SBS