Japan: Govt. finalizes revised corporate governance code and guidelines for investor and company engagements
"Finalization of the Revised Guidelines for Investor and Company Engagement", 11 June 2021
1.Finalization of the Revised Guidelines for Investor and Company Engagement and Summary of Public Comments
(...) The FSA finalized the Revised Engagement Guidelines as Appendix 1. The Revised Engagement Guidelines with track changes from the previous version of the Engagement Guidelines is provided in Appendix 2.
The summary of public consulation is provided in Appendix 3.
(...) The revised version of the Corporate Governance Code is finalized as Appendix 4. The Revised Code with track changes from the previous version is provided in Appendix 5. And the summary of comments and the TSE’s view on them are here. (TSE website)
2.The Main Points of the Revised Code and Engagement Guidelines
The main points of the Revised Code and Engagement Guidelines are as follows
- Enhancing Board Independence (...)
- Promoting Diversity
- Disclose a policy and voluntary measurable targets in respect of promoting diversity in senior management by appointing females, non-Japanese and mid-career professionals**
- Disclose human resource development policies ensuring diversity, including the status of implementation
** With respect to board diversity, the current version of the Code already requires companies to ensure the diversity in terms of gender and internationally
- Attention to Sustainability and ESG
- Develop a basic policy and disclose initiatives on the company's sustainability
- Enhance the quality and quantity of climate-related disclosure based on TCFD recommendations or equivalent international frameworks at Prime Market listed companies
- Other Major Points(...)
(Appendix 1) The Revision of Guidelines for Investor and Company Engagement
(Appendix 2) The Revision of Guidelines for Investor and Company Engagement with track changes from the previous version
(Appendix 3) Summary of Public Consultation on Revision to the Engagement Guidelines
(Appendix 4) Japan's Corporate Governance Code (the Revised Code)(TSE announcement on June 11, 2021)
(Appendix 5) The Revised Code with track changes from the previous version (TSE announcement on June 11, 2021)