Japan Shareholder Activists Bring Message of Change To Japan Society Conference on Corporate Governance.

Business Editors

SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 21, 2003

Shareholder activists and corporate reformers from Japan will meet in San Francisco on November 3 and 4, at a conference sponsored by the Japan Society of Northern California, to examine the impact of recent changes in corporate governance practice in Japan and the implications for American investors.

Leading American and Japanese corporate governance experts, including Ted White, director of Corporate Governance for CalPERS, will be key participants, as will Tomomi Yano, executive managing director of the Japan's Pension Fund Association and Tak Wakasugi, Tokyo University professor and creator of the Japan Corporate Governance Index. Other important participants include representatives from Nomura Securities Co, Ltd., UBS Securities, AIG Global Investment Group, Inc., SPARX Asset Management, TIAA-CREF, Goldman Sachs, Barclays Global Investors, the Asian Corporate Governance Association, University of California-Berkeley, San Francisco State University and The Asia Foundation.

"This conference provides unique insight into the current and future state of corporate governance in Japan, an important key to long-term health of the Japanese economy," says John R. Thomas, chair of the board of directors of the Japan Society. "With the Nikkei, Tokyo's benchmark stock index, hitting a 16-month high, confidence that cyclical recovery is underway in Japan has strengthened. But without attention to structural fundamentals, the risks remain significant."

Conference speakers will discuss corporate governance issues ranging from current and ideal global governance practices and the state of corporate governance in Japan to how external investors view and influence corporate governance.

Conference Highlights:

-- The keynote luncheon speaker is Yoshihiko Miyauchi. As

Chairman and CEO of ORIX Corporation, he has provided

benchmark leadership on corporate governance reform for

Japan's public companies. Mr. Miyauchi, who is also the

president of the Council for Regulatory Reform, an advisory

committee on deregulation that reports directly to the Prime

Minister of Japan, will speak on, "Strengthening Corporate

Governance in the New Japan."

-- An in-depth case study featuring Kao Corporation's Senior

Executive Vice President Toshio Hoshino explains how Kao

Corporation has implemented the disciplines of EVA (Economic

Value Added) to strengthen its corporate governance practices.

The Japan Society of Northern California developed the conference in association with the Pacific Pension Institute and the College of Business at San Francisco State University. The event will be held at the Sheraton Palace Hotel located at 2 New Montgomery Street in downtown San Francisco, CA. For registration information contact: Nancy Szymanski at 415-587-9059

About the Conference Sponsors:

The Japan Society

Founded in 1905, the nonprofit Japan Society of Northern California's mission is to strengthen cooperation and understanding between peoples of the United States and Japan. The Society provides a diverse array of programs, which are designed to expand knowledge, increase personal interaction and facilitate discussion on important issues. For more information, visit their website at www.usajapan.org

The Pacific Pension Institute

The Pacific Pension Institute, a nonprofit educational organization, assists pension funds, corporations and financial institutions worldwide to carry out their fiduciary responsibilities, especially with respect to the Asia-Pacific region. For more information, visit their website at www.pacificpension.org.

The College of Business, San Francisco State University

San Francisco State University's College of Business is one of only 406 of the nation's 1,500 business schools accredited by the prestigious Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business. With an enrollment of 5000 undergraduates and 900 graduate students, the College each year awards more business degrees than the Stanford, UC Berkeley, Santa Clara University and USF combined. For more information, visit their website at www.sfsu.edu.