Japan poised to scrap quarterly report requirement for businesses -Nikkei Asia

(Reuters) -Japan’s legislature has begun deliberations on a bill that would end the requirement for listed companies to file quarterly financial reports, in an effort to ease reporting burdens on businesses, Asia magazine reported on Friday.

The proposed amendment to Japan’s Financial Instruments and Exchange Act stipulates that from April, quarterly reports for the first and third quarters of the fiscal year will be eliminated, with their content summarised in financial statements, Nikkei Asia said.

The bill, which was approved by Japan’s upper house Financial Affairs Committee on Thursday, would require listed companies to submit semiannual reports, which has been a requirement for nonlisted companies for some time, according to the Nikkei Asia report.

It aims to address the current process of financial document preparation by businesses where the content of quarterly reports overlaps with financial statements.

Japanese lawmakers are also debating a business bill that would shorten the time it takes for startup companies to go public, the magazine said.