TOKYO, Reuters – Japan’s Prime Minster Fumio Kishida said Tuesday to Parliament that he would be open to new guidelines regarding corporate share buybacks. However, he stressed the importance of avoiding blanket regulations regarding such corporate activities.

Japanese companies have been long criticised by investors for holding cash instead of investing in it or returning it back to shareholders. This has hurt their equity returns.

Following Kishida’s remarks, both the benchmark and broader index ended in red. After the lunch break, they slipped further into negative territory.

Kishida stated that it was important to be cautious about uniformly regulating these things as companies have different circumstances.

“I wonder whether it would be possible to think of a response such as guidelines that considers the individual company’s situation.”

Kishida has been a proponent of wealth redistribution and was in serious trouble this year for raising concerns about Japan’s capital gains tax.

After being criticized for putting at risk a decline in the stock market, he changed his mind and retracted the promise.

Yasunari Umeno, Mizuho Securities’ chief market economist said that Kishida is stating his stance, “he doesn’t want stock prices to go down, but he would like to promote a distribution-focused strategy.”

Ueno said, “But it is if he keeps going with that, it would adversely impact stock markets.”