Korea and Japan have long shared a corporate governance problem: companies in which insiders, such as founding families, wield outsized influence often at the expense of minority shareholders. Both governments have sought to shift that balance by strengthening shareholder rights and pressing companies to improve governance and capital efficiency. Japan moved first, introducing a stewardship code in 2014 and a corporate governance code the following year. The Tokyo Stock Exchange's 2023 directive urging management to be "conscious of cost of capital and stock price" gave activists a clearer framework for engagement. That supportive policy environment has helped turn Japan into one of the biggest markets for shareholder activism. The accompanying focus on capital efficiency has also helped underpin the rise in Japanese equities. Japan accounted for 56 percent of Asia's 205 activist campaigns in 2025 and 32 percent of the 100 campaigns recorded in the first quarter of 2026, according to Diligent Market Intelligence. Activists won 37 board seats at Japan-based companies in 2025, up from seve