J- Links of Interest

Brian Heywood, who oversees about $2 billion mostly in Japanese equities, is putting on a brave face as the market tumbles and many foreigners head for the exit. “We don’t do well when there is a flood of money into Japan, because it’s dumb money,” Heywood, 49, said in an interviev.

$2 Billion Japan Fund Says Good Riddance to 'Dumb Money' by Tom Redmond  and Takako Taniguchi (Bloomberg)

Viewed from Silicon Valley, much of Japan’s industry looks like toast. .Too often we exaggerate the importance of new technologies while underestimating the value of the old.

Ignore Silicon Valley, Japan is still innovating by John Thornhill (Today) 

The invigoration of both investors and companies as a result of the Stewardship and Corporate Governance Code will make the Japanese market one of the best places in the world to be a long-term equity investor.

Japan’s shareholder rights and the arms of the revolution by Seth Fisher (Ethical Boardroom)

For the first time since World War II, the Bank of Japan’s bond purchases will now be directly linked to the government’s issuance of debt. Japan’s first brush with fiscal dominance came in 1932 under Finance Minister Korekiyo Takahashi , when the Japanese economy was growing as sluggishly as it is today.

Japan's Central Bank Writes Tokyo A Blank Check (Forbes)

Over the past two decades, Japanese corporations have moved away from an outdated governance model rooted in keiretsu relationships and “main bank” financing toward a more shareholder-oriented system. Amid this ongoing shift, economist Hanazaki Masaharu calls for a new emphasis on social responsibility and sustainability through wide-ranging dialogue with internal and external stakeholder groups.

Toward a Multi-Stakeholder Model of Corporate Governance - Linking Private Business to the Public Good by Hanazaki Masaharu (Nippon.com)

Proxy advisers are a new phenomenon in Japan, where companies are only now beginning to treat shareholder interests as a serious priority. In an exclusive Nippon.com interview, Executive Director Ishida Takeyuki of Institutional Shareholder Services in Japan offers his unique perspective on the reforms that are slowly but surely changing the face of corporate governance in Japan.

Change Brewing in the Boardroom: A Proxy Adviser Assesses Corporate Governance in Japan by Takenaka Harukata (Nippon.com)