February 22, 2023
On February 22, the Japan Association of Corporate Directors (Chairman: Kazuhiko Toyama) released a proposal on improving gender diversity in order to promote more effective function of boards of directors in Japanese listed companies.
The proposal represents the Association's views in response to recent requests from domestic and foreign institutional investors and the revised Japanese Corporate Governance Code.
In this proposal, JACD advocate that not one but several female directors should be appointed in order to better realize diversity on corporate boards.
JACD recommend that member companies of the association have at least one female director, and we aim to encourage them to take the initiative.
In addition, JACD will provide learning opportunities, such as training programs, for each director to continuously learn and deepen their knowledge of corporate governance.
A working group of female members serving as independent directors was formed to draft this proposal.