CSR in Japanese Company Law

Abstract:     
Today, although large Japanese public companies seem to accept social interest as a management principle, there have been few references in Japanese company law to any form of stakeholder interest other than that of the shareholders and creditors. Most Japanese academics assert that Japanese company law is to be interpreted as supporting the shareholder model, particularly in the event of conflicting stakeholder interests. This article does not propose a radical overhaul of the current Japanese system of company law; rather, it aims to illustrate how Japanese companies could, either directly or indirectly, respect various stakeholders’ interests within the current framework of Japanese company law.

Following the introduction in Section I, Section II will be devoted to the potential scope of companies’ societal activities under current Japanese company law, looking at general company law principles and provisions. Sections III and IV will propose possible interpretations of company law that could favor both the environment and the interests of employees. Section IV will suggest the possibility of using directors’ civil liability provisions and shareholders’ rights to achieve social goals.

The author is a member of the project team of the Sustainable Companies project at the Faculty of Law, University of Oslo.

Number of Pages in PDF File: 16

Keywords: Japanese company law, CSR

Accepted Paper Series