JAPAN Trends and Developments Contributed by: Takeshi Iitani, Reid Monroe-Sheridan, Takahito Fujii and Akira Kawashiro, southgate
past four years, but they also have a significant impact on financial policy, corporate governance, board com - position and corporate structures. This escalation in activist activity has been driven primarily by overseas funds such as Elliott Investment Management and Oasis Management. From July to December 2024, for instance, Oasis submitted multiple shareholder pro - posals at three different target companies on topics including marketing strategy, board nominations and director compensation. Similarly, at an annual general meeting of Tokyo Cosmos Electric Co., Ltd. in June 2025, Global ESG Strategy and Seisei Co., Ltd. sub - mitted proposals to appoint a total of eight directors. Although the company opposed both proposals, all eight candidates were elected, while the company’s
own proposals to appoint five directors were rejected, resulting in the company’s entire management team being replaced. Additionally, domestic investors asso - ciated with Yoshiaki Murakami and his daughter Aya Nomura have also become visible through investments in companies such as Fuji Media Holdings and Man - dom Corporation, accompanied by active engage - ment regarding capital policy and corporate value enhancement. Activist investors, moreover, have been key advocates of taking companies private and are increasingly adopting approaches more reminiscent of private equity than traditional shareholder activism, such as directly proposing takeovers – a trend that will likely help to sustain the high number of MBO transac - tions, takeover bids, and overall M&A activity.
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