Sony Corporation (NYSE: SNE) shareholders rejected a proposal during its annual shareholder meeting regarding executive compensation.

No, they didn't vote down an advisory 'say-on-pay' proposal, they literally voted to not know how much individual executives are compensated.

Only 39.7% of shareholders voted in favor of Sony disclosing the individual pay of top management, rather than aggregate pay as is currently done. Sony CEO Howard Stringer, who has captained Sony through its most recent series of blunders, not surprisingly was against the proposal.

The climate surrounding executive compensation is clearly calmer in Japan right now, but how far the vote came from reaching the two-thirds majority needed is shameful given Sony's loss of market share in key sectors combined with loss of its innovative edge over the last 3 years.