Corporate Governance
Can it Fix Japan's Economy?

Sponsored by:

The Asia Foundation

In co-operation with:

Columbia University's Center on Japanese Economy and Business

Time:

June 4, 2002, 2:00 p.m to 4:00 p.m

Place:

The Foreign Correspondents' Club of Japan Map

Nearly two months into the new fiscal year and contrary to expectations the yen is climbing and Japanese stock prices are rising. Are happy days here again for Japan? Not quite. Four experts on Japanese business argue that if standards of corporate governance were improved in Japan, there might be real reasons for optimism. Columbia University's Curtis Milhaupt sees poor disclosure as a major barrier to more mergers and acquisitions.

Masamoto Yashiro of Shinsei Bank points to continued financial support of poorly run corporations as a big hurdle to serious restructuring of the economy. Nikkei's Akira Kojima states that unless Japanese banks come clean about bad assets, the overnight yen loan market will remain paralyzed. At present, Japanese banks don't trust each other enough to lend to each other. But Columbia Business School's Hugh Patrick cautions that while better corporate governance is a necessary ingredient to recovery, only higher levels of profitability will allow Japanese companies to make real changes.

Speakers:
Akira Kojima, Chief Editorial Writer, Nihon Keizai Shimbun
Curtis Milhaupt, Professor, Columbia University
Hugh Patrick, Professor, Columbia Business School
Masamoto Yashiro, CEO, Shinsei Bank

materials:
 Profiles of Speakers
 Conference Notes
 Institutional Change and M&A in Japan: Diversity Through Deals by Curtis J. Milhaupt & Mark D. West