The National Diet of Japan approved Tuesday a law aimed at tightening penalties for unfair trading and broadening information disclosure.
The Financial Products Trading Law is designed to consolidate the various sales and solicitation rules for the several existing legal frameworks such as the Securities and Exchange Law, the Investment Advisory Law and the Financial Futures Law.
Set to go into effect in April 2008, the law requires a wider range of information to be disclosed on TOB price and increases the frequency with which large shareholders must file reports.
The law ups the penalties imposed upon the falsification of financial statements, manipulation of the market and insider trading.
It also requires an overhaul of quarterly disclosure and stricter internal control in disclosing financial status.