Japan: Companies Act amendments published

The Ministry of Justice has published draft amendments for the Companies Act 2005, following a consultation earlier this year: see here. The Tokyo Stock Exchange has published a short statement, in English, which explains some of the proposed amendments: see here. From this statement it appears that the Ministry of Justice is not recommending a change in the law to require listed company boards to have at least one outside director. However, those listed companies which do not have an outside director will be required to disclose why the appointment of an outside director is regarded as inappropriate.