Many Japanese listed companies have sōdanyaku, counselors, or komon, advisors, posts often held by former executives. In a 2016 survey of listed companies by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, 77.6 percent of the responding companies had such posts.
In 2017, the Tokyo Stock Exchange revised the form of its corporate governance reports. From January 2018, companies could use the new form to report these counselors and advisors. The disclosure is voluntary.