TY - JOUR AB - This paper empirically examines whether dividends are value‐relevant in Japan by employing Ohlson’s (1995) accounting‐based equity valuation technique. The substantial U.S.‐based literature on dividends has confirmed the signalling role of dividends in mitigating information asymmetry between managers and investors, and is consistent with an environment characterized by dispersion of ownership. However, the most important corporate governance characteristic that distinguishes Japan from the U.S. is the predominance of inter‐corporate, interlocking ownership in Japan, which reduces information asymmetry and is therefore likely to diminish the role of dividends in mitigating such asymmetries. Pooled regression results provide evidence consistent with this hypothesis. However, even in such an environment, dividends are value relevant for firms that incur losses whilst paying dividends, and also for firms with permanent earnings. VL - 16 IS - 2 SN - 0114-0582 DO - 10.1108/01140580410818478 UR - https://doi.org/10.1108/01140580410818478 AU - Habib Ahsan PY - 2004 Y1 - 2004/01/01 TI - Accounting‐Based Equity Valuation Techniques and the Value Relevance of Dividend Information: Empirical Evidence from Japan T2 - Pacific Accounting Review PB - Emerald Group Publishing Limited SP - 23 EP - 44 Y2 - 2024/04/19 ER -