http://repub.eur.nl/res/aut/11202/ List of Publications en http://repub.eur.nl/static-eur/img/logo.png http://repub.eur.nl http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/73/ 2001-02-13T00:00:00Z Using data spanning the 1996-1998 fiscal years of 247 of Japan's largest manufacturers, we empirically evaluate the extent to which a firm's investment behavior and financial performance is influenced by its ownership structure. To do so, we examine six distinct categories of Japanese shareholders: foreign investors, investment funds, pen sion funds, banks and insurance companies, affiliated companies and insiders. Our findings strongly indicate that the relationship between the equity stakes of a particular category of investor and a firm's financial performance and investment behavior is highly idiosyncratic. Such a result emphasizes the importance of making finely grained and contextually relevant distinctions when modeling and evaluating corporate governance relations.