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Directors’ Duties Regarding Climate Change in Japan

In collaboration with our Canadian partners, the Canada Climate Law Initiative, we have produced legal analysis on ‘Directors’ Duties Regarding Climate Change in Japan’. Authored by Dr. Yoshihiro Yamada, Vice Dean of College of Law at the Ritsumeikan University, Dr. Janis Sarra, Professor of Law at the University of British Columbia, and Dr. Masafumi Nakahigashi, Vice-President at Nagoya University, the report outlines the three primary duties for directors of Japanese companies: duty of loyalty; duty to be compliant with all laws, regulations, and ordinances, and the company articles; and the duty of care. These duties to the corporation ground the obligation of corporate directors and officers to act in their company’s best interests by developing a plan to tackle climate change. The report also highlights how directors and their companies are impacted if they fail to fulfill these obligations.