Institutions and accounting standard transformation:
Observations from Japan
Naohiro Urasaki ⇑
Faculty of Business Administration, Kinki University, Japan
A R T I C L E I N F O
Article history:
Received 11 March 2013
Accepted 12 October 2013
Available online 27 January 2014
Keywords:
Single set of accounting standards
IFRS
Financial instruments
Substance over form
Fair value
Dichotomy of accounting systems
Accounting standards for SMEs
A B S T R A C T
This paper describes the transformation of Japan’s accounting standards over
the past 2 decades and the driving forces behind this transformation. It also
analyzes the current state of Japan’s accounting standards, which are characterized
by the dichotomy of accounting systems inherited from the country’s
political, economic and legal institutions. The discussion in this paper emphasizes
that a single set of accounting standards is not always effective for every
entity.
2014 Production and hosting by Elsevier B.V. on behalf of China Journal of
Accounting Research. Founded by Sun Yat-sen University and City University
of Hong Kong.
1. Introduction
The economic downturn that began in 1991 after the collapse of the Japanese Asset Price Bubble is referred
to as the Lost 10 years, a period that has also been thought to extend to the recent decade (2001–2010). During
these 2 decades, Japanese accounting systems drastically changed to help restart the Japanese economy based
on government policy. The necessity of the financial system reform is emphasized in the Financial System
Reform (Ministry of Finance, 1997) report as follows.
1755-3091/$ - see front matter 2014 Production and hosting by Elsevier B.V. on behalf of China Journal of Accounting Research.
Founded by Sun Yat-sen University and City University of Hong Kong.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cjar.2013.10.001
⇑ Tel.: +81 6 6721 2332; fax: +81 6 6729 2493.
E-mail address: naohiro.urasaki@hotmail.co.jp