Resolution Results and Quotes from Co-filers for Mitsubishi Corporation, TEPCO, Chubu, and SMBC Climate shareholder proposals

©Taishi Takahashi / 350 org. Japan

Press release

• [Joint Press Release] Shareholders urge Japanese companies to take urgent climate action

Shareholder resolution results

The tally of the votes received for the shareholder proposals jointly submitted to Mitsubishi by individual shareholders affiliated with Market Forces, KIKO Network, and FoE Japan  has been updated.

• Proposal 5: Partial amendment to the Articles of Incorporation (adoption and disclosure of short-term and mid-term greenhouse gas emission reduction targets aligned with the goals of the Paris Agreement)：２０％
• Proposal 6: Partial amendment to the Articles of Incorporation (disclosure of how the company evaluates the consistency of each new material capital expenditure with its net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 commitment)：１６％

©Taishi Takahashi / 350 org. Japan

Quotes from Co-fillers on the resolution results 

“Mitsubishi Corp’s strategy for oil and gas is consistent with a world that fails miserably to meet the goals of the Paris Agreement. Clearly, Mitsubisbi’s investors have realised this and are demanding to know how much additional climate risk the company is planning to take with their money. 

Climate science and energy economics make clear that to have any chance of keeping global warming below 1.5 degrees, we need to stop expanding the scale of the fossil fuel industry. Mitsubishi needs to take its oil and gas plans back to the drawing board.”

Julien Vincent, Executive Director of Market Forces

“With its significant investments in the polluting and risky LNG sector, Mitsubishi Corporation has been betting shareholder capital against the clean energy transition it claims to support. On proposals 5 and 6, investors representing 1.2 trillion and 960 billion yen investment respectively have made a clear directive to Mitsubishi that before the company moves forward with any new LNG plans the company must justify those plans to demonstrate that they are in line with their net zero by 2050 commitment.” 

Megu Fukuzawa, Energy Finance Campaigner, Market Forces.

“Mitsubishi has a net-zero by 2050 commitment, but its pathway to reach this commitment is unclear. Although our engagement resulted in a better understanding of their gaps and concrete measures needed, the company needs to act more urgently to manage climate risk. The climate crisis affects society as a whole, including companies. We will continue to push companies to change their policies and their business plans through various means including engagement.”  

Ayumi Fukakusa, Campaigner, Friends of the Earth Japan 

“Mitsubishi has a GHG emission reductions target aligned with the Paris agreement, but as a trading house with a wide range of business operations both internationally and in Japan, the pathway to reach their target within the given timeframe will have a major impact on their corporate value. Disclosure is essential for investors to evaluate a company’s assets and risks it faces.  Therefore, we plan to continue our dialogue with Mitsubishi as a shareholder beyond this AGM vote.” 

Yasuko Suzuki, Program Coordinator, Kiko Network 

The shareholder proposal and investor briefing can be found here.

Shareholder resolution results

The tally of the votes received for the shareholder proposals jointly submitted to TEPCO by Market Forces and KIKO Network has been updated.

• Proposal 3: Partial amendment to the Articles of Incorporation (disclosure of asset resilience in line with a Net Zero by 2050 Pathway) ９．５５％

Quotes from Co-fillers on the resolution results

‘Today’s vote is a rebuke from shareholders against TEPCO’s investments in a company like JERA, which is aggressively developing new coal and gas power stations, and new gas fields and infrastructure, out of line with a net-zero emissions by 2050 pathway.  On our proposals, investors representing 84.8 billion yen investment have made a clear directive to TEPCO to enhance information disclosure. This vote is even more powerful in light of the significant government holding in TEPCO, as a greater proportion of institutional investors voted for the proposal.”

Dr. Sachiko Suzuki, Climate and Energy Researcher, Market Forces

“JERA, which is 50% owned by TEPCO and Chubu Electric Power Company, is Japan’s largest thermal power generation company, and is building polluting coal-fired power plants in Yokosuka City, Kanagawa Prefecture, and Taketoyo Town, Aichi Prefecture, in defiance of the global trend away from coal. In addition, although the company claims to be aiming for zero emissions, it intends to preserve its thermal power generation facilities for the future by allocating investments to hydrogen/ammonia co-firing and CCUS technology.  These technologies have not yet been proven as commercially viable.This will likely lead to the stranded assets of thermal power plants in the future, which would be detrimental to shareholders. In particular, TEPCO is a de facto nationalised company, with 54% of its shares owned by the Japan Nuclear Damage Liability Facilitation Corporation. If we subtract the 54% owned by the government, this means that more than 20% of the other shareholders agreed with our proposal, which indicates that these shareholders  recognize the importance of disclosing financial information on climate risk. TEPCO, Chubu Electric Power Company, and the government should recognize that disclosing climate-related financial risks to their investments in JERA is their responsibility as Japan’s largest energy company.”

Takako Momoi, Kiko Director and Tokyo Office Manager 

The shareholder proposal and investor briefing can be found here.

Shareholder resolution results

The tally of the votes received for the shareholder proposals jointly submitted to Chubu Electric Power Company by Market Forces and KIKO Network has been updated. 

• Proposal 9 :Partial amendment to the Articles of Incorporation (disclosure of asset resilience in line with a Net Zero by 2050 Pathway) １９.９％

Quotes from Co-fillers on the resolution results 

“JERA’s plans to expand coal and LNG pose unacceptable risks to Chubu’s shareholders. They risk exposing Chubu to stranded fossil fuel assets as the world moves to align with climate goals. It comes as no surprise that a fifth of Chubu investors have voted to demand clear disclosure from Chubu to better understand the extent of climate-related financial risks posed by investing in JERA and its rampant fossil fuel expansion.”  

Dr. Sachiko Suzuki, Climate and Energy Researcher, Market Forces 

“We have been discussing with Chubu Electric Power, however, our impression is there is a gap in understanding about the urgency of the climate crisis.  At its AGM, Chubu Electric insisted the company would focus on stable electricity supply and following governmental policy. The company’s plan to use hydrogen and ammonia for thermal power generation as a ‘zero emission power’ is not commercially viable at this moment. We hope that the favourable percentage of votes for our proposals to Chubu Electric and TEPCO requesting the strengthening of the company’s decarbonisation strategy (as well as the 26%, 18%, and 19% in favour (respectively) of the J-POWER proposals), would positively impact the business operations of both Chubu, TEPCO and JERA.”

Yasuko Suzuki, Program Coordinator, Kiko Network. 

The shareholder proposal and investor briefing can be found here.

Shareholder resolution results

The tally of the votes received for the shareholder proposals jointly submitted to SMBC by Market Forces, 350 org.Japan, Rainforest Action Network, KIKO Network, and individual shareholders affiliated with FoE Japan has been updated. :

• Proposal 4: Partial amendment to the Articles of Incorporation (Setting and disclosing short- and medium-term greenhouse gas emissions reduction targets consistent with the goals of the Paris Agreement)：２７％
• Proposal 5: Partial amendment to the Articles of Incorporation (Financing consistent with the IEA’s Net Zero Emissions Scenario, etc)：１０％

©Taishi Takahashi / 350 org. Japan

Quotes from Co-fillers on the resolution results 

“Proposal 4 received a higher supporting rate than the 23% of last year’s MUFG (Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group) with the same objective. This is in the context of 6 recommendations issued by two major proxy advisory firms, all but one of which recommended against our proposals, while fossil fuel prices continue to soar due to the war in Ukraine and the energy crisis. This result sends a strong message to the Board of Directors that investors believe SMBC Group’s current efforts to achieve net-zero are inadequate and should accelerate its actions.　

Proposal 5, (an entirely new proposal), received the same level of support as similar proposals made this AGM season to financial institutions in Europe and the United States. SMBC Group needs to respond to the investors’ voice by strengthening its climate-related risk management through setting business plans with short and mid-term targets and phasing out fossil fuel financing, starting from the controversial East African Crude Oil Pipeline.” 

Eri Watanabe, Senior Finance Campaigner, 350.org Japan.

“27% of the shareholders of SMBC Group are concerned that the company has failed to demonstrate management of climate risk. This means that shareholders with an investment of 1.5 trillion Yen are concerned that SMBC’s claims of support for net-zero by 2050 and the Paris Agreement are hollow, without concrete action that shows that their business plans are shifting away from the fossil fuel industry. This is a strong wake up call to SMBC and its board of directors, as well as the other Japanese megabanks.” 

Dr. Sachiko Suzuki, Climate and Energy Researcher, Market Forces.

“At the shareholders meeting, CEO Jun Ohta emphasised the importance of the forest sector, and stated that the emissions from the highest emitting sectors will be calculated as needed. However, SMBC’s 2030 GHG emission reduction target for the electricity sector does not include emissions from the forest sector, such as woody biomass generation or coal co-firing. This leaves emissions from fuel combustion nowhere to be counted, leading to a false transition financing to decarbonization. SMBC should review the emissions calculation for the electricity sector. At the same time, SMBC should urgently calculate emissions from the forest and agribusiness sector, and develop  its short and medium term emission reduction targets.”

Toyoyuki Kawakami, Japan Representative, Rainforest Action Network 

The shareholder proposal and investor briefing can be found here.