TOKYO -- Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Bank failed to count some shareholder votes ahead of the annual meetings for Toshiba and about 1,000 other companies this summer, in a pattern of errors that has persisted for two decades without the knowledge of client businesses or their investors.
The mishandling of ballots cast by mail raises concerns about stockholder rights and the integrity of corporate resolutions. It also spotlights corporate Japan's stubborn reluctance to move paper documents online.
