"The idea of corporate governance and shareholder rights just never developed in Japan," he said.

All told, 29 states have enacted laws limiting shareholder rights.

He said his new status would give him greater freedom to get issues of shareholder rights put on proxy ballots.

An early advocate of shareholder rights has a new target.

"The only shareholder rights observed in Russia are the right of the state - and would you trust that?"

That's because we're still very far from democracy, a market and respect for shareholder rights.

In 1996, well before the current crisis, Jang formed his shareholder rights' committee.

The legal climate for protection of shareholder rights is getting much more chilly.

Why would companies that restrict shareholder rights be such poor performers?

Or maybe the restrictions on shareholder rights are just symptoms of a deterioration caused by something else.