Scrutiny from regulators outside Japan: Challenges for Japanese companies

There are three cultural themes that consistently influence the way that Japanese companies interact with the outside world: (i) form over function, (ii) group over individual, and (iii) harmony.

These themes are not the main topics of this series, but they are constant threads that run throughout each episode.  Understanding these themes is essential for grasping the challenges faced by Japanese companies when dealing with scrutiny from regulators and litigants outside Japan.

Sources: Yoshimura, T., & Anderson, E. (2000). Insidethe Kaisha: Demystifying Japanese Business Culture. Business Week Books

Speakers: John Lane, Peter Bungate, Nina Newcombe, Anup Bharadwaj

Scrutiny from regulators outside Japan: Challenges for Japanese companies

As the domestic market shrinks and more Japanese companies look outside Japan to increase revenue, they expose themselves to increased legal and regulatory risk.

John Lane, Peter Bungate, Nina Newcombe and Anup Bharadwaj are lawyers at Nagashima Ohno & Tsunematsu in Tokyo.  Join them as they invite their colleagues to discuss some of the difficulties that Japanese companies face when internal misconduct is discovered and foreign stakeholders start asking difficult questions. 

This series aims to provide Japanese companies with greater awareness to better manage their cross-border regulatory and litigation risk.  For non-Japanese listeners, the series will unlock some of the puzzling, and seemingly irrational, decisions by Japanese companies which can lead to breaches of laws and regulations, and poor handling of the fallout.

Episode 1 provides a high-level overview of each of the 21 episodes in the series.

Ayumi Fukuhara provides a high-level overview of the recent developments in human rights due diligence (HRDD), particularly the key notes of the HRDD guidelines, established by the Japanese government in September 2022. *This podcast was recorded on February 12, 2024.

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We discuss the reform of Thailand’s rules on advertisement based on the guidelines on the use and proof of advertisements in regard to affirming facts which are difficult to prove under the newly enacted Notification of Advertisement Committee. This episode will guide you to these guidelines that set out requirements which business operators or advertisers need to comply with when making advertisement for the purpose of consumers’ benefit protection. (Speakers: Yothin Intaraprasong, Poonyisa Sornchangwat, Kwanchanok Jantakram) *This podcast was recorded on March 28, 2023.

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https://www.noandt.com/en/publications/publication20230327-1/

This episode covers the essentials of the employment contract such as minimum contents as well as recommendable provisions around working time, work place, vacation days and term and termination. It also sheds some light on the relation between employment contract and work rules. (Speakers: Eriko Ogata, Axel Kuhlmann) *This podcast was recorded on December 13, 2022.

In this episode, we will discuss the substantial changes to the Civil and Commercial Code.  The discussion will get into details of how newly amended Civil and Commercial Code will facilitate entrepreneurs and companies in doing business in Thailand and an introduction of a new business consolidation scheme. (Speakers: Yothin Intaraprasong, Ponpun Krataykhwan, Kwanchanok Jantakram) *This podcast was recorded on November 21, 2022.

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In Part 1 of the series, "Challenges faced by some Japanese companies when responding to overseas regulatory investigations", Ayumi Fukuhara and John Lane explore how a single-minded focus on customer satisfaction can be used as an inappropriate justification for non-compliance with laws and regulations, and what companies can do to mitigate this risk.

*This podcast was recorded on July 12, 2022.

Kensuke Suzuki and John Lane give a high-level overview of the significant monetary incentives for companies to self-disclose historic misconduct to regulators outside Japan and discuss whether the same incentives to self-disclose exist in Japan.

*This podcast was recorded on June 14, 2022.