News Headlines - 15 November 2015

▽Japanese banks to accelerate unwind of cross-shareholdings - FT.com

Nearly six months since Japan established its first corporate governance code, the country’s three largest banks have set accelerated targets for selling down their estimated Y10tn “strategic” stakes in corporate clients.
The move, which has seen Mizuho, Sumitomo Mitsui and Mitsubishi UFJ all pledging to speed up the sale of so-called cross-shareholdings, is a timely fillip for Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and a growth programme that some have accused of running out of steam.

▽GE in Talks With Two Suitors for Japan Commercial-Finance Operation - WSJ

The race to buy General Electric Co.’s nearly $5 billion Japanese commercial-lending business is nearing the finish line with two bidders remaining, according to a person familiar with the situation.

▽Ford-Mazda capital tie-up ends | Bangkok Post

Mazda Motor Corp and Ford Motor Co have formally dissolved their 36-year-old capital alliance but will continue to cooperate in the production of some vehicles, including their AutoAlliance Thailand venture... But the companies will continue to cooperate in producing pickup trucks at their joint venture in Thailand, as well as contract production in Taiwan and South Africa, said sources familiar with the matter.

▽Manga rows show why it’s still Japan’s medium of protest | The Guardian

Next year’s G7 summit in the Japanese city of Shima has already been hit by controversy. However, the row is not over policy, but over the meeting’s official mascot, Aoshima Meg – a manga rendering of a teenage girl dressed as one of the area’s famed ama divers... But that has not been the only recent manga row. There was barely a murmur of disapproval when Japan’s prime minister, Shinzo Abe, announced that his country would not be taking in Syrian refugees. It was left to a pitiless manga depiction of a six-year-old Syrian girl to ignite public debate. The illustration drew loud protests on social media and prompted a change.org campaign demanding that the artist, Toshiko Hasumi, remove it from her Facebook page.

▽For a New World to Come review – photographers capture Japan's upheaval | The Guardian

In the years following 1968, Japan was rocked by protests and a new generation of photographers rose up to document and express their country’s turmoil