International Corporate Responsibility Series

Volume 2, 2005

Perspectives On International Corporate Responsibility

A Analysis of Corporate Governance Issues for Large Japanese Multinationals Seen Through the Prism of Three Recent Cases

This study examines the three major Japanese multinational corporate governance cases of the past decade: Sumitomo Copper, Daiwa Bank, and Mitsubishi Motors. The analysis focuses on three particular matters: Does senior management and the board exhibit a form of “disaster myopia”? Were there clear signs of the impending problems that were ignored? Is there anything distinctive that makes these cases Japanese in character? The first two questions are answered in the affirmative for all three firms, but only the Mitsubishi case exhibits a peculiarly Japanese characteristic.