The relevance of keiretsu affiliation on disclosure quality in contemporary Japanese economy

Abstract

ABSTRACT Corporate governance reforms were introduced in Japan in the 2000s to improve investor protection and disclosure quality. Given the importance of keiretsu-affiliated firms in the Japanese economy, our study investigates the association between keiretsu affiliation and disclosure quality. We find no systematic difference in disclosure quality between listed Japanese keiretsu and non-keiretsu-affiliated firms. Instead, we find that disclosure quality is positively associated with firm size, profitability, directors’ share ownership, overseas sales, and access to international capital. Moreover, no gap in disclosure quality between old keiretsu firms with zaibatsu heritage and post-war emerging keiretsu firms is observed.