Does Restructuring Pay in Japan? Evidence Following the Lost Decade

After over a decade of sluggish economic growth accompanied by massive fiscal stimulus and government handouts (not unlike the response to the current global crisis) in the 1990s, it remains an open question whether and how Japanese firms have restructured their operations, and whether these efforts have borne any fruit. The popular consensus is that Japanese companies did start to implement tough restructuring measures at the start of the 21st century, but there is little evidence describing the scope and ultimate efficacy of such measures. Using a randomly selected sample of 300 firms from the Tokyo Stock Exchange, we collect all restructuring announcement made in the aftermath of the so-called lost decade, specifically in the 2000-2001 period. Our results are striking in that while we find that firms engaging in restructuring of various sorts display improved earnings in the period following the restructuring announcement, shareholders do not appear to benefit at the time of the restructuring announcements. Our results are consistent with a model of corporate governance whereby the benefits of restructuring accrue to fixed as opposed to residual claimants, sometimes referred to as a creditor-centric corporate governance system.Japanese corporate restructuring, restructuring announcement

The Feminist Mix

Writings and artwork responding to feminist issues involving dating, reproductive rights, body image, and race.https://digitalcommons.chapman.edu/feminist_zines/1007/thumbnail.jp

Population changes of Ad_lie and emperor penguins along the Prince Olav Coast and on the Riiser-Larsen Peninsula

The trends of penguin populations are thought to be reliable indicators of ecosystem changes in the Southern Ocean. There are seven Ad_lie penguin colonies and one emperor penguin colony along the Prince Olav Coast and one emperor penguin colony on the Riiser-Larsen Peninsula. We compiled and analyzed the available data collected by airborne and ground census between 1971 and 2000 in order to determine the breeding status of penguins in this area. Ad_lie penguin populations increased at two colonies; no apparent trends were observed at other colonies. Emperor penguin populations were high in the mid-1990s and suddenly decreased in 2000. Populations need to be carefully monitored in the coming years

Reversal Rate of Clustering of Cardiovascular Disease Risk Factors of Metabolic Syndrome in the General Population: The Niigata Preventive Medicine Study

The reversal rate from clustering of cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors—components of the metabolic syndrome (MetS) is not known. Methods and Results. Among 35,534 subjects who received the annual health examinations at the NiigataHealth Foundation (Niigata, Japan), 4,911 subjects had clustering of 3 or more of the following CVD risk factors: (1) body mass index (BMI) ≥25 Kg/m2, (2) blood pressure ≥130 mm Hg in systolic and/or ≥85 mm Hg in diastolic, (3) triglycerides ≥150 mg/dL, (4) high-density lipoprotein cholesterol ≤40 mg/dL in men, ≤50 mg/dL in women, and (5) fasting blood glucose ≥100 mg/dL. After 5 years 1,929 subjects had a reversal of clustering (39.4%). A reversal occurred more often in males. The subjects with a reversal of clustering had milder level of each risk factor and a smaller number of risk factors, while BMI was associated with the least chance of a reversal. Conclusion. We concluded that a reversal of clustering CVD risk factors is possible in 4/10 subjects over a 5-year period by habitual or medical interventions. Gender and each CVD risk factor affected the reversal rate adversely, and BMI was associated with the least chance of a reversal

Limit theorem of the max-plus walk (Mathematical structures of integrable systems, its deepening and expansion)

Mathematical structures of integrable systems, its deepening and expansion. September 9-11, 2019. edited by Takao Suzuki. The papers presented in this volume of RIMS Kôkyûroku Bessatsu are in final form and refereed.The max-plus algebra is a semiring on Rmax = R⋁{-∞} with addition ⊕ and multiplication ⊗ defined by ⊕ = max and ⊗ = +, respectively. It is known that eigenvalues of max-plus matrices are equivalent to the maximal average weight of the corresponding directed graph. In [9], authors introduced the max-plus walk which is a walk model on one dimensional lattice on Z over max-plus algebra, and discussed its properties such as the conserved quantities and the steady state. In this paper, we will discuss the limit measure of the max-plus walk