Quotes from Japan Investment Summit

TOKYO (Reuters) - Here is a selection of quotes from the Reuters Japan Investment Summit on Tuesday:

HIKARI IMAI, CEO & PRESIDENT, JAPAN M&A ADVISORY FIRM RECOF

CORP:

"In Japan the market mechanism doesn't work. In other words natural selection or survival of the fittest doesn't work in Japan. Therefore .... failures will remain alive and then they participate in a price war so that no one can be profitable.

"If the market mechanism worked in Japan failures should go out of the market, and then the survivors can get a reasonable level of profit. That doesn't work. That's the fundamental problem."

HIROAKI NIIHARA, DIRECTOR, MINISTRY OF ECONOMY, TRADE &

INDUSTRY:

"British (takeover) rules are not known in Japan. We need to get more familiar with them.

"If an investor owns more than 30 percent in the company, this group can control the company in a way it wants and that could hurt the interests of other shareholders.

"I expect very strong resistance (from institutional investors to the proposal).

"The concept of independent directors doesn't exist."

ROBERT MORRICE, CHAIRMAN & CEO ASIA PACIFIC, BARCLAYS PLC

(BARC.L):

"We have the same ambition in Japan as we have everywhere else, slightly different because there are strong domestic competitors here. We want to be one of the top three foreign banks in Japan, which would give us a springboard to be one of the top five overall.

"Our experience over the last seven or eight years has given us a good insight into how to incrementally grow the business in Japan. You have to be patient, focused and not get ahead of yourself."

JUN FRANK, DIRECTOR OF ASIAN PROXY RESEARCH, GLASS LEWIS:

"There should be tighter regulations on cross shareholdings. Disclosure of cross shareholdings is poor in Japan. Cross shareholdings are detrimental to shareholders of Japanese companies."

TAKEYUKI ISHIDA, HEAD OF JAPAN RESEARCH, RISKMETRICS:

"We don't have the fear of litigation (on executives). The dagger is falling over the heads of U.S. directors. In Japan, there is very close to zero pressure in terms of litigation."

HIROSHI WATANABE, PRESIDENT AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE, JAPAN BANK

FOR INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION:

"I don't think the euro has already got a position to become a key currency in the very short term.

"The dollar should remain the key currency for the time being. But we have to admit that the dollar is over its peak (as a key) currency, so we should not give any unnecessary burden to the demand (for dollars) in the foreign exchange market."

NAOKI KAMIYAMA, CHIEF EQUITY STRATEGIST, DEUTSCHE SECURITIES

(SPEAKING ON MONDAY):

"Japan's corporate governance is bad, from investors' point of view. It's true that it's hard to invest because corporate governance isn't working here as an insurance on the whole.

"I have a relatively bearish view on the outlook for Japanese banks as a domestic business. It's hard to think those sectors dependent on domestic demand will make profits and grow solely on a recovery in the external environment. Banks would need to do things like join forces for that, for instance."

(Compiled by Reuters reporters)