"When we're 50% foreign owned that gives people pause within Japan," Johnson said in an interview. Companies often view the presence of an activist investor as a challenge to their strategy or a factor that could delay execution of their plans. The activist investor previously praised JSR's "fact-based decision making" and said it supports the sale to JIC. "But that doesn't contribute to the Japanese semiconductor materials industry overall," he said. "I don't think they're being imaginative enough ... there's a wide range of materials expertise in Japan," Johnson said.

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Persons: Eric Johnson, Johnson, ValueAct, JSR's, Atsushi Ikeda, Goldman Sachs, Ikeda, Yuta, JSR, Sam Nussey, Miho Uranaka, Makiko Yamazaki, Svea Herbst, Bayliss, Stephen Coates Organizations: JSR, Japan Investment Corp, Samsung, Intel, ValueAct, Companies, Citigroup, Svea, Thomson Locations: TOKYO, American, Japan, there's