Considering that the ownership structure of Japanese corporations has changed dramatically in the 1990s, this paper address a series of question related to these changes. Why is cross-shareholding, which has been in place for almost three decades, now beginning to unwind (and the mechanisms of...

We examine how foreign and domestic portfolio investors, both classified into money managers, invest in Japanese firms over the sample period of 1985–1998. We propose the agency-familiarity hypothesis to explain investment behavior of these institutional investors focusing on the two...

In this study, we investigate whether multiple main bank relationships reduce the so-called quot;hold-up costsquot; of bank financing (Rajan (1992)) by examining the panel data of Japanese companies listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, first and second sections during the period from 1991 to...

We examine how foreign and domestic portfolio investors similarly or dissimilarly invest in Japanese firms for the period of 1985-1998. We propose the agency as well as relational explanations of foreign and domestic institutional investor biases. These explanations can explain bias patterns of...

In this paper, we examine how alternative corporate governance mechanisms work in Japan, using the panel data on the equity ownership and bank loans of manufacturing companies listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange (TSE) first section over the 1985-1998 period. First, we find that the main bank...

Japan has experienced a deep and prolonged banking crisis in the 1990s. In this paper we attempt to identify the characteristics of companies which have the most to lose from the banks' malaise. Using stock price data, we calculate abnormal returns of non-financial companies around significant...

Japan experienced a deep and prolonged banking crisis in the 1990s. In this Paper we attempt to identify the characteristics of companies which have the most to lose from the banks’ malaise. Using stock price data, we calculate abnormal returns of non-financial companies around significant...