DISCLOSURE IN JAPANESE CORPORATE ANNUAL REPORTS

This paper reports the results of a survey of disclosure in the annual reports of unlisted and listed corporations in Japan, a country that many argue has a unique environment. The paper attempts to investigate differences between companies in the extent of disclosure in their Commercial Code (CC) and Securities and Exchange Law (SEL) accounts respectively. The survey finds that there is a significant difference in disclosure by multiple listed companies in their CC accounts compared with domestically listed corporations and unlisted enterprises. It is also found that there is a significant difference in disclosure between multiple listed and domestically listed entities in their SEL accounts. However, there was no significant difference in disclosure between the TSE (Tokyo Stock Exchange) group and the unlisted group in their CC accounts.