A practice is said to continue at Japanese listed companies whereby the incumbent president nominates the next president, and a view is introduced that calls this an executive employee cooperative. The author discusses the meaning of this system and corporate governance, and also considers future prospects and plans for a novel.
In many Japanese listed companies, it is said to be standard practice for the incumbent president to nominate the next president, a practice that lawyer Ushijima Makoto (牛島信) calls an executive employee cooperative. The author says that these personal ties have fostered a sentiment that companies should not abandon people who previously bore responsibility.
However, a corporation is structured so that its management is determined by shareholders' voting rights, and this cooperative is expected eventually to break down. The author points out that managers have a responsibility to bring together the interests of diverse stakeholders.
The author is developing the concept for a follow-up to the novel Japan Buyout and considering the relationship between activists and cooperatives as an issue surrounding modern Japanese business. While aiming to produce enforceable outcomes in court, the author believes that writing can change the shape of society.