We are pleased to share the November 2021 issue of Japan Corporate & Finance Insights. This newsletter is designed to keep you current on what we consider to be important recent legal developments involving Japanese corporate and finance matters. The present issue relates to the Companies Act, which was amended in December 2019.

＜TOPICS＞
Corporate Indemnity (By Takahiro Fuchigami and Hiroki Tsuda)
“Corporate Indemnity” means a company’s indemnification of an officer thereof for all or part of the following in connection with the performance of his/her duties: (i) expenses arising in the course of handling an alleged violation of laws and/or regulations or a civil claim and/or (ii) losses incurred by an officer liable for damages incurred by a third party. Corporate Indemnity has the advantage of providing appropriate incentives for executives to perform their duties, preventing them from paralysis in fear of personal liability for damages. The Amended Companies Act directly specifies the scope of and procedures for Corporate Indemnity.

Amendment of Request for the Inspection or Copying of Voting Forms and Other Amendments (By Akihiro Goda and Taro Matsumoto)
In this article, we will provide an overview of the amendment regarding (i) the inspection or copying of Voting Forms, (ii) settlement in a lawsuit pertaining to an action for pursuing liability, (iii) information for advance disclosure concerning consolidation shares, (iv) registration concerning share options and the location of branch offices of a company, and (v) qualifications of directors.