News Navigator: Why are corporate executives' remunerations disclosed?

(Mainichi Japan) June 4, 2010
News Navigator: Why are corporate executives' remunerations disclosed?
質問なるほドリ：なぜ高額の役員報酬が公表されるの？＝回答・中井正裕
　＜ＮＥＷＳ　ＮＡＶＩＧＡＴＯＲ＞

The Mainichi answers common questions that readers may have about why corporate executives who receive high-level remunerations are identified and their amounts disclosed.
（何故高額の役員報酬が公表されるのか毎日新聞がお答えします）

　◇不適切な経営判断けん制　基準は米国参考「年１億円以上」

　◆なぜ高額の役員報酬が公表されるの？
Question: Major cosmetics company Shiseido Co. has recently announced the amount of its president's remuneration. Is it a rare move?
　なるほドリ　大手化粧品メーカーの資生堂が、社長の報酬額を発表したけど、珍しいの？

Answer: Japanese listed companies are supposed to disclose their business performance and financial situation in their annual financial reports. Even though all listed firms are legally required to announce the total amount of their board members' remunerations, they were not mandated at all to specify the amounts of individual board members' remunerations until recently. Therefore, most of the companies have withheld such information even though some companies, including semiconductor supplier Tokyo Electron Ltd., have voluntarily disclosed their chief executive officers' remuneration in their financial statements.
　記者　日本の上場企業は毎年、金融商品取引法に基づき、事業状況や財務内容などを有価証券報告書で公表します。報告書には役員報酬の総額を記載しなくてはなりませんが、それぞれがいくらもらったかの「個別開示」は義務付けられていませんでした。東京エレクトロンなど、報告書で自主的に代表取締役の報酬を明らかにしている企業もありますが、ほとんどの日本企業は個別開示していないのです。

Q: How about listed companies in the United States?
　Ｑ　米国の上場企業は個別開示しているの？

A: They publicize remunerations for their top five board members, who have earned the largest amounts of pay over the previous three years. In Britain, listed firms announce all individual board members' remunerations. Most major industrialized democracies including Canada, Germany, France and Italy have their own regulations on the announcement of individual corporate executives' remunerations. The move is aimed at discouraging companies from paying excessive amounts of compensation to executives when their business performance is slumping.
　Ａ　報酬額トップ５人の過去３年間分を開示しています。英国では役員全員の個別報酬を公表しています。そのほか、カナダ、ドイツ、フランス、イタリアなど主要先進国の多くが個別開示のルールを定めています。「業績不振にもかかわらず、トップに巨額報酬を支払ってしまう」などの不適切な経営判断をけん制するのが狙いです。

Q: In Western countries, the transparency of board members' remunerations has been encouraged, hasn't it?
　Ｑ　欧米各国では、役員報酬の透明化が進んでいるんだね。

A: In Japan, too, the Financial Services Agency (FSA) revised regulations on the standards for information to be disclosed in companies' financial statements to obligate firms to identify their board members and auditors who earn at least 100 million yen a year and specify their exact amounts.
　Ａ　日本でも金融庁が３月、報告書の公表基準を定める内閣府令を改正し、年間１億円以上の報酬を受けた取締役や監査役の名前と金額の公表を義務付けました。

The new rules apply to corporate financial statements for fiscal 2009 that must be submitted to authorities by the end of June, or later. Some business leaders voiced opposition to the move due to privacy concerns, but the FSA justified it on the grounds that listed companies, for which numerous shareholders invest their funds, have a public mission and should publicize their specific information on relations between their business performances and remunerations for their executives.
６月末が提出期限となる１０年３月期の有価証券報告書から適用されます。経済界からは、プライバシー保護などを理由に反対の声が上がりましたが、金融庁は「多数の株主が投資する上場会社は、公的存在。業績と報酬の関係について具体的に情報開示すべきだ」と説明しています。

Behind the move is the fact that State Minister for Financial Services Shizuka Kamei expressed displeasure at the fact that Shinsei Bank that ran deeply in the red last fiscal year pays huge amounts of compensation to board members who are from a foreign company that holds a stake in the bank. "Its president gets a mere 9 million yen, but each board member from a foreign stakeholder earn a ridiculously high remuneration of 150 million yen," Kamei complained.
また、１０年３月期に巨額赤字を計上した新生銀行に対し、亀井静香金融相が「社長は９００万円なのに、外資（出身の役員）が１億５０００万円ぐらいのべらぼうな報酬を取っている」と不快感を表明したことも背景にあるようです。

Q: Why are only those who earn over 100 million yen subject to the rules?
　Ｑ　なぜ、１億円以上なの？

A: The agency made the decision considering that the figure is the average amount of remunerations paid to chief executives officers of listed companies in the United States. However, the levels of remunerations for Japanese listed companies are lower than those in the United States and Europe. Fulltime board members of Japanese listed firms receive approximately 25 million yen on average. Therefore, most of Japanese listed companies will unlikely be required to disclose their individual board members' remunerations.
　Ａ　米国の上場企業の最高経営責任者（ＣＥＯ）がもらっている報酬水準を参考にしたそうです。でも、日本の上場企業の役員報酬は欧米企業に比べて低く、常勤の取締役で平均２５００万円程度。日本の場合、ほとんどの企業が「開示対象なし」となる見通しです。

It is also notable that the new rules obligate listed companies to disclose their standards for calculating their executives' remunerations and how to determine the amounts. In other words, listed companies are required to fulfill their accountability for how they decide on compensation for their executives. (Answers by Masahiro Nakai, Economic News Department)
もう一つ注目したいのが、役員報酬の算定基準や決定方法の公表を新たに義務付けたこと。役員報酬をどのように決めているのかについて、企業側は説明責任を果たさなくてはなりません。（経済部）

毎日新聞　2010年6月4日　東京朝刊