“Plans of action, not empty platitudes.” That’s how Shamina Singh, the founder and president of the Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth, opened Wednesday’s Global Inclusive Growth Forum in Washington, D.C., and it became an unofficial through-line.

Japan has made major strides in corporate governance over the past decade. Reforms have included increasing board independence and modernizing committee structures. Yet one component of Japanese boards remains relatively unchanged: age. That’s a material oversight, in our view.