翻訳 42
株主総会に乗り込み騒動を巻き起こしてきた総会屋のいま？
公開日：2018/05/27 更新日：2019/02/07
6月といえば、株主総会シーズンの真っ盛り。かつては、総会屋が株主総会に乗り込んで混乱を引き起こし、企業の側にたって議論を封じ込めるなどして、金品を得ていたものです。その総会屋はいま、どうなっているのでしょうか。
警察庁の統計によると、1970年代後半には1万人を超えていたとされる総会屋は、現在では約200人を切るまでに減少し、実際に活動をしいているのは20人弱のようです。
総会屋が激減したのは、1981年と1997年の2度の商法改正によって活動が制約されたことに加え、2006年に施行された会社法第120条によって、株主の権利の行使に関する利益の供与が規制され、さらに総会屋による利益要求自体を禁じる「利益要求罪」も新設されたことです。
そもそも総会屋は、株式会社の株式をほんの少し保有することで、株主としての権利行使を濫用し、会社から不当に金品を要求することで成り立っていました。
総会屋にはいろいろなタイプがあり、経営陣の側にたって、会場で「異議無し」「議事進行」などと大声を発し、いわゆるシャンシャン総会で終わらせるグループ、反経営陣の側に立ち、スキャンダルに関する質問や、経営批判を繰り返すことで、議場を混乱させるグループなどがいました。
株主総会が近づくと、擁護派と対立派がグループを形成し、進行屋、万歳屋、攻撃屋、防衛屋、仲裁屋など、それぞれの役割を振り分け、会場の前の方の席を占拠して、それぞれの思惑によって行動していたようです。
総会屋の活動は、株主総会だけではありません。新聞や雑誌を発行し、購読料や賛助金といった名目で金品を要求するほか、コンサルタント料の名目で、企業の用心棒的なことで利益を得ていた者もいます。その窓口となっていたのが総務課で、最盛期には総会屋専門の担当者も置いたところもありました。
総会屋のターゲットになったのは、スキャンダルや不正を隠したい大手銀行や一流企業です。1997年には、野村、山一など当時の４大証券と第一勧業銀行（現・みずほ銀行）の幹部らが、総会屋に損失補填や不正融資をしていたことが発覚して逮捕されるという事件が続発しました。
なかでも、世間の耳目を集めたのが、第一勧業銀行を中心とする金融界から、たった一人で100億円以上の不正融資を引き出した、戦後最大規模の金融スキャンダル「総会屋利益供与事件」です。
法改正やコンプライアンス意識の高まりによって激減した総会屋ですが、完全に姿を消したわけではありません。
手を変え、品を変え、水面下で暗躍している勢力も未だに残っているようです。
https://www.manegy.com/news/detail/200
What has happened to the sōkaiya who once brought chaos to shareholders meetings?
May 27th 2018
Updated February 7th 2019
To some, June means the height of shareholders meeting season. In the past, these meetings have been dogged either by sōkaiya causing mayhem, or by sōkaiya who have been given money or goods by the company to shut down controversies. But what about now?
From 10,000 in the sōkaiya heydays to now just under 200
According to statistics released by the National Police Agency, there were over 10,000 sōkaiya in the latter half of the 1970s, though this has now reduced to just under 200. Of those, only 20 are estimated to be active. Two reforms to commercial law, firstly in 1981 and then in 1997, dramatically reduced and restricted sōkaiya activities. The enforcement of Article 120 of the Companies Act in 2006 meant that a company cannot give anyone benefits in relation to the exercise of a shareholder's rights, establishing 'Provision of Benefits' as a crime and prohibiting the extortion practices of sōkaiya. Originally, sōkaiya could improperly demand money and goods from a company by owning a small amount of the company's shares and abusing their shareholder rights.
Management supporters versus management opposition
There are many types of sōkaiya. Some work on behalf of the management of a company, to loudly voice a lack of objection to proposals or to urge shareholders meetings to continue, others turn proceedings into a so-called 'shan shan meeting,' where sōkaiya help management to bring an early close to the meeting by shouting and applauding, while groups paid to support anti-management causes ask questions about scandals, repeat criticism of the management and cause chaos. As shareholders meetings draw closer, management supporters and management opposition form groups, and various roles are assigned, such as facilitator, troublemaker, attacker, defender, mediator and so on. They occupy the front row seats in the venue and perform their various roles. The activities of sōkaiya aren't just limited to shareholders meetings. They publish newspapers and magazines, obtaining money and goods in the name of collecting subscription charges and member contributions, as well as profiting from 'consultant fees' by acting as a company's security. A company's general affairs section became the contact point for sōkaiya, and at the peak of sōkaiya activities, there were often people responsible for, an specializing in, sōkaiya.
The sōkaiya scandals that shocked the world
Large banks and big-name companies hiding scandals and fraud became a target for sōkaiya. In 1997, there were a series of revelations as it was discovered that the management at the big four securities firms at the time (including Nomura and Yamaichi), as well as Dai-Ichi Kangyo Bank (now Mizuho Bank) had granted sōkaiya fraudulent loans and compensation for trading losses. There were numerous arrests. What attracted public attention was the fact that a single person withdrew over 10 billion yen in fraudulent loans from a financial sector that was led by Dai-Ichi Kangyo Bank. The 'sōkaiya payoff scandal' was the biggest post-war financing scandal. The numbers of sōkaiya have dramatically reduced as a result of legal reform and increased awareness of compliance, but they have not completely disappeared. There are still those who operate by any means possible under the radar even now.
