Japanese companies cannot use national security cover to block takeovers

Japanese companies cannot use national security cover to block takeovers

FILE PHOTO: Shoppers walk out from a Seven & I Holdings' 7-Eleven convenience store in Tokyo, Japan, April 7, 2016. REUTERS/Yuya Shino/File/File Photo

Japanese companies cannot use a national security designation as a tool to thwart foreign takeovers, a senior finance ministry official said, pushing back at speculation Tokyo’s foreign exchange act could be manipulated for protectionism.