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54-684: Kobe Steel has the lowest proportion of steel operations of any major steelmaker in Japan and is characterised as a conglomerate comprising the three pillars of the Materials Division, the Machinery Division and the Power Division. The materials division has a high market share in wire rods and aluminium materials for transport equipment, while the machinery division has a high market share in screw compressors. In addition,

108-531: A ⟨k⟩ , is often used, but the original Japanese pronunciation is kabushiki gaisha , with a ⟨g⟩ , owing to rendaku . A kabushiki gaisha must include " 株式会社 " in its name (Article 6, paragraph 2 of the Companies Act). In a company name, " 株式会社 " can be used as a prefix (e.g. 株式会社 電通 , kabushiki gaisha Dentsū , a style called 前株 , mae-kabu ) or as a suffix (e.g. トヨタ自動車 株式会社 , Toyota Jidōsha kabushiki gaisha ,

162-423: A (so-called) "close company" ( 非公開会社 , hi-kōkai gaisha ) , in which case the company (e.g. its board of directors or a shareholders' meeting, as defined in the articles of incorporation) must approve any transfer of shares between shareholders; this designation must be made in the articles of incorporation. The articles must be sealed by the incorporator(s) and notarized by a civil law notary , then filed with

216-589: A Japanese company proposing Mizuho align its investments with the goals of the Paris Agreement, which was followed by investor support for the resolution. In response, Mizuho has agreed not to finance any further coal projects, and to end all existing loans for coal projects by the year 2050. Kabushiki kaisha A kabushiki gaisha ( Japanese : 株式会社 , pronounced [kabɯɕi̥ki ɡaꜜiɕa] ; lit.   ' share company ' ) or kabushiki kaisha , commonly abbreviated K.K. or KK ,

270-511: A K.K. is carried out by one or more incorporators ( 発起人 , hokkinin , sometimes referred to as "promoters") . Although seven incorporators were required as recently as the 1980s, a K.K. now only needs one incorporator, which may be an individual or a corporation. If there are multiple incorporators, they must sign a partnership agreement before incorporating the company. The purpose statement requires some specialized knowledge, as Japan follows an ultra vires doctrine and does not allow

324-468: A K.K. must have a board of directors ( 取締役会 , torishimariyaku kai ) consisting of at least three individuals. Directors have a statutory term of office of two years, and auditors have a term of four years. Small companies can exist with only one or two directors, with no statutory term of office, and without a board of directors ( 取締役会非設置会社 , torishimariyaku-kai hi-setchi-gaisha ) . In such companies, decisions are made via shareholder meeting and

378-477: A K.K. to act beyond its purposes. Judicial or administrative scriveners are often hired to draft the purposes of a new company. Additionally, the articles of incorporation must contain the following if applicable: Other matters may also be included, such as limits on the number of directors and auditors. The Corporation Code allows a K.K. to be formed as a "stock company that is not a public company" ( 公開会社でない株式会社 , kōkai gaisha denai kabushiki gaisha ) , or

432-519: A global basis: Mizuho is active in retail banking with 515 branches and over 11,000 automated teller machines (ATMs). Mizuho Bank is the only bank, other than Japan Post Bank , to have branches in every prefecture in Japan. It serves over 26 million Japanese households, 90,000 SME customers, 2500 corporations, and retail brokerage clients under the name Mizuho Investors Securities nationwide, with $ 114 billion in retail customer assets under its management as of 2016. Mizuho predecessors,

486-621: A machine manufacturer. Its business performance expanded, partly due to the shipbuilding boom during World War I. In 1918, it acquired the rights to manufacture diesel engines from Sulzer of Switzerland, helping to speed up the Japanese naval, marine, locomotive and automobile transport sectors. Today, the KOBELCO Group operates a broad range of business fields that cover Steel & Aluminum, Advanced Materials, Welding, Machinery, Engineering, Construction Machinery, and Electric Power. In

540-399: A minor issue when deciding how to structure a business in Japan. As all publicly traded companies follow the K.K. structure, smaller businesses often choose to incorporate as a K.K. simply to appear more prestigious. In addition to income taxes, K.K.s must also pay registration taxes to the national government and may be subject to local taxes. Generally, the power to bring actions against

594-587: A more of a single identity, although its original board founded in 2002 was consistent with Japanese banking protocols. In 2016 they opened their global transactions banking headquarters in Singapore, and have offices for this unit in China, Hong Kong, Tokyo, London, and New York City. That year they also began a partnership with Cognizant, to develop block-chain methods of securing the banks private records. Mizuho splits its business into four distinct divisions, on

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648-588: A number of ETFs which are listed in Japan, but some of these ETFs are very illiquid because no market maker was appointed. For example, One ETF Gold (1683:JP) frequently trades at a discount of more than 10% to the NAV. Mizuho is a sponsor of the Tokyo International Marathon and the 2020 Olympic Games and 2020 Paralympic Games . In September 2013, a routine regulatory control unveiled that Mizuho enabled loans of up to $ 1.9 million to

702-513: A price of less than ¥50,000 per share (effective 1982-2003 ), or operate with paid-in capital of less than ¥10 million (effective 1991–2005). On June 29, 2005, the Diet of Japan passed a new Companies Act ( 会社法 , kaisha-hō ) , which took effect on May 1, 2006. A kabushiki gaisha may be started with capital as low as ¥1, making the total cost of a K.K. incorporation approximately ¥240,000 (about US$ 2,500) in taxes and notarization fees. Under

756-563: A split and merger process reorganizing the three legacy banks. Initially Mizuho traded under the ticker symbol MHHD on the London Stock Exchange. Mizuho Corporate Bank focused on large corporations, financial institutions and public sector entities in Japan and overseas, whereas Mizuho Bank focused on individuals and small and medium-sized companies in Japan. The merger resulted in the world's first trillion-dollar banking group, with its $ 1.2 trillion in assets, surpassing

810-454: A style called 後株 , ato-kabu ). Many Japanese companies translate the phrase " 株式会社 " in their name as " Company, Limited "—this is very often abbreviated as " Co., Ltd. "—but others use the more Americanized translations "Corporation" or "Incorporated". Texts in England often refer to kabushiki kaisha as " joint stock companies ". While that is close to a literal translation of the term,

864-468: Is a banking holding company headquartered in the Ōtemachi district of Chiyoda, Tokyo , Japan. The group was formed in 2000-2002 by merger of Dai-Ichi Kangyo Bank , Fuji Bank , and Industrial Bank of Japan . The name mizuho ( 瑞穂 ) literally means "abundant rice" in Japanese and "harvest" in the figurative sense. Mizuho Financial Group is the parent holding of Mizuho Bank , Mizuho Trust & Banking , Mizuho Securities , and Mizuho Capital , and

918-510: Is a type of company ( 会社 , kaisha ) defined under the Companies Act of Japan . The term is often translated as "stock company", " joint-stock company " or "stock corporation". The term kabushiki gaisha in Japan refers to any joint-stock company regardless of country of origin or incorporation; however, outside Japan the term refers specifically to joint-stock companies incorporated in Japan. In Latin script, kabushiki kaisha , with

972-593: Is also combined into one Unicode character at code point U+337F ㍿ SQUARE CORPORATION , while the parenthesized form can also be represented with a single character, U+3231 ㈱ PARENTHESIZED IDEOGRAPH STOCK as well as parentheses around U+682A 株 CJK UNIFIED IDEOGRAPH-682A and its romanization U+33CD ㏍ SQUARE KK . These forms, however, only exist for backward compatibility with older Japanese character encodings and Unicode and should be avoided when possible in new text. The first kabushiki gaisha

1026-629: Is referred to as a company with a board of statutory auditors ( 監査役会設置会社 , kansayaku-kai setchi-gaisha ) . Close K.K.s may also have a single person serving as director and statutory auditor, regardless of capital or liabilities. A statutory auditor may be any person who is not an employee or director of the company. In practice, the position is often filled by a very senior employee close to retirement, or by an outside attorney or accountant. Japanese law does not designate any corporate officer positions. Most Japanese-owned kabushiki gaisha do not have "officers" per se , but are directly managed by

1080-839: The Dai-Ichi Kangyo Bank (DKB), the Fuji Bank (Fuji) and the Industrial Bank of Japan (IBJ), had great control over many Japanese companies through keiretsu system. The three banks led the DKB Group , Fuyo Group and the IBJ Group respectively. The Fuyo Group traces its history as far back as the old Yasuda zaibatsu . Even now, seven out of ten companies listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange have dealings with Mizuho. Asset Management One manages

1134-602: The Middle East and the US . Its main production facilities are Kakogawa Steel Works and Takasago Works. Kobe Steel is also famous as the owner of the rugby team Kobelco Steelers . In 1905, the general partnership trading company Suzuki Shoten acquired a steel business in Wakinohama, Kobe, called Kobayashi Seikosho, operated by Seiichiro Kobayashi, and changed its name to Kobe Seikosho. Then, in 1911, Suzuki Shoten spun off

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1188-443: The yakuza (Japanese mafia). It also appeared that loans to the mob had been approved through its affiliate credit company Orient Corp. This scandal led to the resignation of the group's CEO Takashi Tsukamoto. In December 2019, a report named Mizuho as the top private lender to coal developers between January 2017 and September 2019. In March 2020, Japanese NGO Kiko Network filed the first climate related shareholder resolution with

1242-668: The Great Hanshin Earthquake of January 1995, the Kobe head office building and company housing collapsed, and the No. 3 Blast Furnace at the Kobe Steel Works was also damaged, resulting in an emergency shutdown, causing approximately JPY 100 billion in damage, the largest for a private company. The Third Blast Furnace, which restarted only two and a half months after the earthquake, had become a 'symbol of recovery', but

1296-585: The Illinois Business Corporation Act of 1933, giving kabushiki gaisha many traits of American corporations , and to be more exact, Illinois corporations. Over time, Japanese and U.S. corporate law diverged, and K.K. assumed many characteristics not found in U.S. corporations. For instance, a K.K. could not repurchase its own stock (a restriction lifted by the amendment of the Commercial Code in 2001), issue stock for

1350-516: The Kobe Steel's mislabelling, which had potential safety implications for their vehicles, the CEO of Kobe Steel conceded that his company now had "zero credibility". Other affected companies include Ford , Boeing and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries . CEO Kawasaki promised to lead an internal investigation. On 13 October 2017, Kobe Steel admitted that the number of companies misled was over 500. Despite

1404-478: The Legal Affairs Bureau in the jurisdiction where the company will have its head office. In a direct incorporation, each incorporator receives a specified amount of stock as designated in the articles of incorporation. Each incorporator must then promptly pay its share of the starting capital of the company, and if no directors have been designated in the articles of incorporation, meet to determine

1458-605: The Meiji era and converted into commercial banks after World War II . Mizuho was established in 2000 as Mizuho Holdings, Inc. by the merger of Dai-Ichi Kangyo Bank, Fuji Bank, and the Industrial Bank of Japan, first announced in 1999. It was the first financial holding company structure created among major Japanese banks. On 1 April 2002, DKB, Fuji and IBJ were officially and legally combined into two banks, Mizuho Bank, Ltd. and Mizuho Corporate Bank, Ltd. , through

1512-467: The Ministry of Finance. Under the new Company Law, public and other non-close K.K.s may either have a statutory auditor, or a nominating committee ( 指名委員会 , shimei-iin-kai ) , auditing committee ( 監査委員会 , kansa-iin-kai ) and compensation committee ( 報酬委員会 , hōshū-iin kai ) structure similar to that of American public corporations. If the company has an auditing committee, it

1566-691: The company to establish Kobe Steel Works, Ltd. at Wakinohamacho, Kobe. After the Russo-Japanese War, as the Imperial Japanese Navy adopted a policy of fostering private factories, Kobe Steel received technical guidance and orders from the Kure Naval Arsenal and other arsenals in Maizuru and Yokosuka, and expanded its scale. Around 1914, the company started making machinery for naval vessels and began its journey as

1620-553: The costs of dealing with the scandal, Kobe Steel issued a revised profit forecast in February 2018 announcing that it expects to generate a net profit of ¥45 billion ($ 421 million) for the full 2017 fiscal year, marking its first net profit in three years. Mizuho Financial Group The Mizuho Financial Group, Inc. ( 株式会社みずほフィナンシャルグループ , Kabushiki-gaisha Mizuho Finansharu Gurūpu ) , known from 2000 to 2003 as Mizuho Holdings and abbreviated as MHFG or simply Mizuho ,

1674-464: The crisis. In 2012 Mizuho Financial Group acquired 100% of the assets from the Brazilian bank Banco WestLB do Brasil S.A. On 30 June 2013, the group structure was simplified by a merger of Mizuho Bank and Mizuho Corporate Bank into a single banking entity that retained the name Mizuho Bank. In 2014 the company underwent a board of directors reform to further streamline its corporate culture into

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1728-425: The decision-making power of the directors is relatively limited. As soon as a third director is designated such companies must form a board. At least one director is designated as a Representative Director ( 代表取締役 , daihyō-torishimariyaku ) , holds the corporate seal and is empowered to represent the company in transactions. The Representative Director must "report" to the board of directors every three months;

1782-415: The directors on the corporation's behalf is granted to the statutory auditor. Historically, derivative suits by shareholders were rare in Japan. Shareholders have been permitted to sue on the corporation's behalf since the postwar Americanization of the Commercial Code; however, this power was severely limited by the nature of court costs in Japan. Because the cost to file a civil action is proportional to

1836-618: The directors, one of whom generally has the title of president ( 社長 , sha-chō ) . The Japanese equivalent of a corporate vice president is a department chief ( 部長 , bu-chō ) . Traditionally, under the lifetime employment system, directors and department chiefs begin their careers as line employees of the company and work their way up the management hierarchy over time. This is not the case in most foreign-owned companies in Japan, and some native companies have also abandoned this system in recent years in favor of encouraging more lateral movement in management. Corporate officers often have

1890-417: The exact meaning of this statutory provision is unclear, but some legal scholars interpret it to mean that the board must meet every three months. In 2015, the requirement that at least one director and one Representative Director must be a resident of Japan was changed. It is not required to have a resident Representative Director although it can be convenient to do so. Directors are mandatories ( agents ) of

1944-605: The first Japanese bank to obtain financial holding company status in the U.S., and Mizuho Financial Group listed its ADRs on the New York Stock Exchange. Mizuho, through its operations in New York, became involved in the subprime mortgage crisis and lost seven billion dollars on the sale of collateralized debt obligations backed by subprime mortgages. It is the Asian bank which suffered the most losses due to

1998-515: The foundation of trading house Yasuda-ya in 1864. In addition to Dai-Ichi (whose name literally means "number one"), Mizuho also incorporates several of the subsequent National Banks in Meiji Japan which were numbered in accordance with their chronological date of establishment until 1880: The group's predecessors also include Nippon Kangyo Bank (est. 1897) and Industrial Bank of Japan (est. 1902), two institutions founded as policy banks in

2052-404: The incorporator, and then make payment for his or her shares by a date specified by the incorporator(s). Capital must be received in a commercial bank account designated by the incorporator(s), and the bank must provide certification that payment has been made. Once the capital has been received and certified, the incorporation may be registered at the Legal Affairs Bureau. Under present law,

2106-470: The initial directors and other officers. The other method is an "incorporation by offering," in which each incorporator becomes the stock underwriter of a specified number of shares (at least one each), and the other shares are offered to other investors. As in a direct incorporation, the incorporators must then hold an organizational meeting to appoint the initial directors and other officers. Any person wishing to receive shares must submit an application to

2160-686: The largest mega-bank in the world until 2005. The name "Mizuho" means "new, bountiful, and rich harvest of rice" in Japanese. The original structure saw the founding of the Mizuho Bank, focusing on individuals and SMEs , and the Mizuho Corporate Bank, which focuses on corporate entities. The initial strategy of the company was to expand its lending operations with individuals and SMEs, and begin to offer fee-based services including securitizations, merger and acquisitions support, security-based investment banking, and syndicated loans. At

2214-437: The legal title of shihainin , which makes them authorized representatives of the corporation at a particular place of business, in addition to a common-use title. Kabushiki gaisha are subject to double taxation of profits and dividends, as are corporations in most countries. In contrast to many other countries, however, Japan also levies double taxes on close corporations ( yugen gaisha and gōdō gaisha ). This makes taxation

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2268-576: The majority owner of Asset Management One . The group offers a range of financial services, including banking, securities, trust and asset management services, employing more than 59,000 people throughout 880 offices. It is listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange —where it is a constituent of the Nikkei 225 and TOPIX Core30 indices—and in the New York Stock Exchange in the form of American depositary receipts . Upon its founding, Mizuho

2322-487: The next largest bank by about $ 480 billion. The move has been considered to have formed one of the first "mega-institutions" in the financial industry, beginning a trend in the industry of large-scale bank mergers referred to in Japan as the consolidation movement during the 2000s. While other mega-institutions were composed of one major player and several minor ones, Mizuho was composed of three relatively equal institutions in terms of their size and influence. It remained

2376-422: The old Commercial Code, a K.K. required starting capital of ¥10 million (about US$ 105,000); a lower capital requirement was later instituted, but corporations with under ¥3 million in assets were barred from issuing dividends , and companies were required to increase their capital to ¥10 million within five years of formation. The main steps in incorporation are the following: The incorporation of

2430-588: The power sector has one of the largest wholesale power supply operations in the country. Kobe Steel is a member of the Mizuho keiretsu . It was formerly part of the DKB Group , Sanwa Group keiretsu, which later were subsumed into Mizuho. The company is listed on the Tokyo & Nagoya Stock Exchange , where its stock is a component of the Nikkei 225 . As of March 31, 2022, Kobe Steel has 201 subsidiaries and 50 affiliated companies across Japan , Asia , Europe ,

2484-732: The shareholders, and the Representative Director is a mandatory of the board. Any action outside of these mandates is considered a breach of mandatory duty. Every K.K. with multiple directors must have at least one statutory auditor ( 監査役 , kansayaku ) . Statutory auditors report to the shareholders, and are empowered to demand financial and operational reports from the directors. K.K.s with capital of over ¥500m, liabilities of over ¥2bn and/or publicly traded securities are required to have three statutory auditors, and must also have an annual audit performed by an outside CPA . Public K.K.s must also file securities law reports with

2538-739: The strength and durability of its aluminium, copper and steel products. The scandal deepened when the company said it found falsified data on its iron ore powder, which caused its shares to fall 18%. By 11 October, shares had fallen by a third. After testing the parts of their bullet trains , the Central Japan Railway Company announced that 310 components were discovered to contain sub-standard parts supplied by Kobe Steel. Following further news in October 2017 that car makers Toyota , Nissan , and General Motors , and train manufacturer Hitachi , were among 200 companies affected by

2592-412: The time, Mizuho controlled about 50% of the syndicated loans market. Mizuho also launched one of the first Internet-based securities products in 2000. In 2003, Mizuho Financial Group, Inc. took over the operations of Mizuho Holdings. On 1 October 2005, all subsidiaries of Mizuho Holdings were transferred to the direct control of Mizuho Financial Group. Mizuho Holdings, no longer a bank holding company,

2646-401: The two are not precisely the same. The Japanese government once endorsed "business corporation" as an official translation but now uses the more literal translation "stock company." Japanese often abbreviate " 株式会社 " in a company name on signage (including the sides of their vehicles) to 株 in parentheses , as, for example, " ABC㈱ ." The full, formal name would then be " ABC株式会社 ". 株式会社

2700-540: The world according to Forbes rankings as of May 2017. It has been consistently listed as a systemically important bank by the Financial Stability Board . The history of the banks that formed Mizuho combines multiple threads of Japanese financial history, going back to the early Meiji era and particularly the establishment in 1873 of Dai-Ichi Bank , Japan's first modern bank and joint-stock company led by Shibusawa Eiichi , if not even earlier with

2754-462: Was suspended in October 2017 in order to strengthen competitiveness. In recent years, the company has been focusing on fields other than steel, such as aluminium, machinery, and electric power, and is clearly aiming to change from being a 'steelmaker' to a 'manufacturer that also handles steel'. Former prime minister Shinzō Abe worked at Kobe Steel before entering politics. Source: Source: In October 2017, Kobe Steel admitted to falsifying data on

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2808-632: Was the Dai-Ichi Bank , incorporated in 1873. Rules regarding kabushiki gaisha were set out in the Commercial Code of Japan , and was originally based on laws regulating German Aktiengesellschaft (which also means share company). However, during the United States-led Allied Occupation of Japan following World War II, the occupation authorities introduced revisions to the Commercial Code based on

2862-417: Was the largest bank in the world by assets. Following further consolidation, it has become the third-largest of Japan's so-called megabanks with total assets of $ 1.9 trillion at end-March 2023, behind Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group ($ 2.9 trillion) and SMBC Group ($ 2.0 trillion). Mizuho was the 15th largest banking institution in the world by total assets as of December 2018, and the 90th largest company in

2916-495: Was then renamed Mizuho Financial Strategy, which now focuses on providing advisory services. Mizuho Financial Group was in turn listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the stock symbol MFG in 2006. Mizuho Corporate Bank engaged in steady expansion overseas, opening twenty overseas offices between 2005 and 2010, particularly in China, as well as in the Americas, Europe and Middle East. In 2006, Mizuho Corporate Bank became

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