The dawn of Japanese corporate governance in the Yamato era

Abstract

Background: The subject of the study is Japanese corporate governance during the formation of the centralised Yamato state and the development of its specific features. Little has been written about the structures and characteristics of governance in ancient Japan. Thus, the article may contribute to reducing the gap that exists in this field in the Polish literature.
 Research purpose: The aim is to try to show Japanese corporate governance in Yamato (until 645) and to identify those unique features and their roots that have not lost their relevance to this day. The paper verifies the thesis that the model of corporate governance developed in the Yamato period is a product of uji traditions and customs, as well as the hybridisation of culture and rights of the Japanese clans and Chinese Empire.
 Methods: The analysis is carried out at macro and microeconomic levels based on a review of the literature on the history of Japan and corporate governance. The most important political, social, and economic events in the early Yamato are presented in building the centralised state, its governance, control, and incentive structures. The uji, the be, and the uji-kabane system are shown as mechanisms of governance.
 Conclusions: The analysis confirmed the thesis that the Yamato corporate governance model is the result of the hybridisation of cultures and the laws of Yamato and China and that it created the foundations of Japan’s unique contemporary model of corporate governance