Japanese Corporate Governance Codes in Global Investor Spotlight

NEW YORK, NY--(Marketwired - May 31, 2016) - Institutional Investor, a world leading financial information company founded in 1967, is pleased to announce the results of the 2016 rankings of Japan's top CEOs, CFOs, Investor Relations Officers and Investor Relations Departments. Institutional Investor's CEO, David Antin, is the founder of the Executive Team rankings, which are supported by deep data and have become a key benchmark globally. This year, 443 Japanese companies received nominations across 25 business sectors. Corporate governance proved a key factor in determining the winners.

"Japan's recently enacted stewardship and corporate governance codes are spurring investors from around the world to learn more about Japanese companies and to request meetings with their chief executives," observes Thomas W. Johnson, Institutional Investor's director of research. "Voting in this year's All-Japan Executive Team survey, our annual ranking of the nation's top business leaders as seen through the eyes of investment professionals, surged by roughly 40 percent year over year."

Three companies sweep their sectors -- capturing first place in every category in which they are eligible to compete -- on the 2016 All-Japan Executive Team, Institutional Investor's exclusive annual ranking of the nation's corporate leaders as seen through the eyes of investment professionals:

• Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, a multinational engineering and electronics outfit
• Mizuho Financial Group, the nation's second largest financial services firm, in terms of holdings
• Nidec Corp., a manufacturer of electric motors for appliances, computers and other devices

Other companies that finish in the top three in every category (and the sector in which they rank) are:

• Asahi Group Holdings (Beverages, Food & Tobacco)
• Astellas Pharma (Health Care & Pharmaceuticals)
• Daiwa House Industry Co. Construction)
• Dentsu (Broadcasting)
• Komatsu (Machinery)
• Mitsubishi Corp. (Trading Companies)
• Mitsubishi Electric Corp. (Electronics/Industrial)
• Mitsui Chemicals (Chemicals)
• Murata Manufacturing Co. (Electronics/Components)
• Nissan Motor Co. (Autos)
• Rakuten (Internet)
• Sony Corp. (Electronics/Consumer)
• Tokio Marine Holdings (Insurance & Other Nonbank Financials)
• Yamato Holdings Co. (Transportation)

To see the top 3 winners per category, visit http://www.institutionalinvestor.com/Research/6279/Overview.html.

The 2016 All-Japan Executive Team reflects the opinions of 570 investment professionals at 226 financial services firms. Respondents from the buy side work at institutions that collectively manage an estimated $586 billion in Japanese equities.

The overall rankings in each of the four categories -- Best CEO, Best CFO, Best IR Professional and Best IR Company -- are based on combined buy- and sell-side votes. Detailed data behind the rankings is available by subscription.

"Money managers that voted in this year's survey work at firms that oversee more than half a trillion dollars in Japanese equities," Johnson reports. "This year they identified a higher number of companies and executives that they deemed worthy of recognition, which suggests that they are meeting with a wider array of corporate leaders and paying close attention to the level of transparency and disclosure that they receive."

"The All-Japan Executive Team is unique in the sense that the people who vote, whether they're on the buy side or sell side, are experts on the stocks they cover -- it's their job to know these companies inside and out," explains II Editor Michael Peltz. "They exert tremendous influence on current and potential shareholders by virtue of their expertise."

II asks portfolio managers and sell-side analysts to name the best CEOs, CFOs and investor relations professionals at the Japanese companies they cover, and to evaluate these businesses on several corporate governance attributes, including making board members and senior executives accessible, responding quickly and thoroughly to requests, providing timely and accurate disclosure of essential financial information, and so on. Responses to these questions are aggregated to produce an overall rank for each company.

About Institutional Investor
Now entering its fifth decade, Institutional Investor has consistently distinguished itself among the world's foremost financial publications with groundbreaking journalism and incisive writing that provides essential intelligence for a global audience. In addition, Institutional Investor offers a host of proprietary research and rankings that serve as respected industry benchmarks. For more information visit www.institutionalinvestor.com.