Will Japan’s new prime minister continue to reform corporate governance?

KISHIDA FUMIO, Japan’s new prime minister, has voiced no opposition to the corporate-governance reforms of Abe Shinzo. His predecessor’s efforts to make Japanese companies more focused on shareholder returns and less beholden to insider management were central to his economic reforms. But nor has Mr Kishida said much in their favour. Proposals for tax breaks for companies that increase wages have made it into the manifesto of his ruling Liberal Democratic Party, as have references to the importance of stakeholders over shareholders. That will worry those who think Japanese shareholder capitalism has not yet gone far enough.