October 6th, 2011
Financial Services Agency

Disclosure System Working Group; Legal Expert Study Group Report “Issue between the Equal Treatment Rule among Shareholders in Japan and Foreign Securities Regulations regarding Rights Offering”

The Financial Services Agency set up the Legal Expert Study Group (chaired by Prof. Hiroyuki Kansaku, University of Tokyo Graduate Schools for Law and Politics) under the Disclosure System Working Group, with the aim of discussing the issue between the equal treatment rule among shareholders in Japan and foreign securities regulations regarding rights offering.

In the “Financial Services Agency Disclosure System Working Group Report ~Development of Legal System for Rights Offering in Japan~” published on January 19th, 2011, it pointed out that “regarding the lack of conflict between the shareholder equality principle and restrictions on the exercise of rights by foreign resident shareholders in order to prevent excessive application of foreign securities regulations, it is appropriate to work on arrangement of concepts under current laws”. Following this, the Legal Expert Study Group has discussed issues regarding the exercise restriction of share options in rights offering and the equal treatment rule since July 2011.

Based on these discussions, the study group published a report entitled “Issue between the Equal Treatment Rule among Shareholders in Japan and Foreign Securities Regulations regarding Rights Offering” on September 16th, 2011.

(Attachment)

Legal Expert Study Group Members (PDF:21KB)

Issue between the Equal Treatment Rule among Shareholders in Japan and Foreign Securities Regulations regarding Rights Offering (PDF:65KB)