ROE as Valuation Practice: The Ito Review’s Impact in Japan

Abstract

This paper examines political aspects of valuation practice, setting a goal of ROE (Return on Equity)8% to achieve sustainable value creation for Japanese companies. After carefully analyzing the 2008 financial crisis, it was found that corporate governance reforms were implemented globally to overcome short-termism. The Japanese government also implemented corporate governance reforms, and METI (The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry) published the Ito Review in 2014 and set a ROE8% as a goal for sustainable value creation. However, instead of promoting sustainable value creation by Japanese companies, this led to actions that focused on shortterm results.