Japanese firms have been making efforts to avoid coronavirus infections at shareholder meetings, such as issuing an unusual call for shareholders not to attend.
The moves aim to avoid the so-called "Three Cs" -- closed spaces, crowded places and close-contact settings -- to prevent infections.
Among alternative proposals, some firms are making it possible for shareholders to watch the meetings online as part of efforts to hold discussions.
Toyota Motor Corp., which held its general meeting of shareholders on Thursday at its headquarters in Toyota, Aichi Prefecture, stopped operating a bus that shuttles people between the venue and the nearest train station, and did not distribute any commemorative gifts to shareholders.
Yamaha Motor Co., which held its general meeting in March, also did not give out local confectionery to shareholders as it usually does. Shochiku Co. for its part distributes movie tickets every year, but did not do so this year.
Shareholder meetings are the highest decision-making body for companies. For management, it is the place where they can explain management policies and obtain approval from shareholders.
Many companies give out souvenirs to encourage shareholders to attend these meetings, but this year, many firms decided not to follow this conventional practice, placing importance on the health of shareholders and employees.
The use of the internet has spread as a result of the coronavirus. The number of people who attended Yaskawa Electric Corp.'s general shareholder meeting at its headquarters in Kitakyushu, Fukuoka Prefecture, on May 27 was about 40, only one-fifth of the number the previous year.
Many shareholders voted in advance by mail or other means, and watched the meeting online on the day as well.
"The response from shareholders has been generally positive. We would like to look into [taking similar measures] next year and beyond," an official of the company said.
Aeon Co. also livestreamed its meeting while limiting the number of participants at the venue to 100.
Itochu Corp. and Nippon Suisan Kaisha Ltd., will go ahead with their general meetings slated for mid- to late June, but they will be attended only by executives, without shareholders.
SoftBank Group Corp. said it will hold a shareholder meeting at a venue that can accommodate 50 people, but Chairman and CEO Masayoshi Son and other executives are set to attend the meeting remotely.
However, it is hard to gather the opinions of shareholders via the internet, and it is costly to install a dedicated system. In addition, communication problems may mean it is not possible to watch the meetings smoothly.
Only a few companies, such as the SoftBank Group and Fujisoft Inc., are holding shareholder meetings in which shareholders can vote on agenda items while watching the meeting online. But it remains to be seen if such firms will continue employing these measures from next year.
Due to the impact of the coronavirus, many companies delayed the release of earnings reports for the fiscal year that ended in March.
Many shareholder meetings, however, are being held in June as usual because postponing them until after July would complicate a firm's business processes, and shareholders who sold their shares after April could lose their dividends and voting rights.
According to the Tokyo Stock Exchange, the number of companies that have moved their meetings to July or later was only 20 as of the end of May.
A total of 2,278 listed companies whose fiscal year ended in March had announced schedules for their shareholder meetings by May.
Of them, 1,797 firms, or 78.9%, said they would hold a meeting during the peak week of June 22-26. Contrary to the trend of decentralized dates in recent years, more companies are likely to hold their general meetings during the same period, observers said.
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