I looked up what this meant posted on mtgox.com
ANNOUNCEMENT REGARDING AN APPLICATION FOR COMMENCEMENT OF A PROCEDURE OF CIVIL REHABILITATION
1 Answer
Japan’s Civil Rehabilitation Law was intended “to enable application for rehabilitation procedures and the commencement of such procedures prior to the occurrence of bankruptcy factors.” [1] Holding the creditor meeting is arbitrary [2] to enable a debtor to continue with the execution of its business and management/disposal of its assets, [3] and otherwise sustain operations, while committing to corporate rehabilitation.
Although the Corporate Reorganization Law applies only to joint-stock corporations (kabushiki kaisha, or KK, in Japanese), the Civil Rehabilitation Law covers all companies, including foreign-affiliated businesses. Although management can begin corporate rehabilitation on its own prior to the stage of collapse, the law was enacted as a “process to prevent business failure.”
Under Civil Rehabilitation Procedures, assets and liabilities are reassessed as if bankruptcy has occurred, [4] and expected bankruptcy dividend amounts are established. This assessment of assets is conducted, in principle, on the basis of selling price, [5] and a dividend based on the liquidation value is applied to the rehabilitation creditors (principle of liquidation value guarantee [6] ). However, civil rehabilitation companies continue their operations in principle and do not actually liquidate, so any earnings from their remaining assets can exceed reassessed liquidation value, creating a framework in which a business can be rehabilitated swiftly.
Corporate rehabilitation has been limited to a select number of companies in Japan. Among small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), many companies are unable to find financial support and are forced into bankruptcy (i.e., liquidation) without any prospect of reorganization. According to a survey by Teikoku Databank, only 2,841 of the companies that filed for protection from creditors under the Civil Rehabilitation Law obtained approval for their rehabilitation plans. That accounts for only 66.7 percent of all applicants. [7]