From corporate thugs to innocent gropers: Japan’s annual blitz of shareholder meetings attracts them all. Back in the 1980s, underworld sokaiya gangs, who preyed upon the urge for an outward appearance of harmony, extorted enormous sums. Activist investors then picked up the baton. Their demands were far tougher: bigger dividend pay-outs, more efficient balance sheets and new boards. Shareholder activism began petering out from last year; the biggest gripers to emerge so far this year are demanding Seibu install men-only carriages on trains so they are not unfairly accused of groping passing women.