Jun. 22--TOKYO -- Shareholders lashed out Monday at executives of struggling Japanese companies like NEC Corp. and Mitsubishi Motors Corp. over their dismal financial performance as they sought explanations for what they claim was poor handling of the global economic downturn.

Dozens of major Japanese companies will also hold their annual shareholders meeting this week as a time when an increasing number of individual stockholders are seeking a bigger say in the management of company operations.

Sinking into the red for the business year that ended in March, both NEC and Mitsubishi Motors were unable to pay annual dividends for fiscal 2008 with sales and demand eroded by the global economic downturn and a stronger yen.

"If you had carried out drastic reforms before the onset of the global recession, we would not be in this kind of situation," a male shareholder said at NEC's meeting in Tokyo. "I think your crisis awareness is low." "We accept the criticism that our earnings are sluggish," NEC President Kaoru Yano said after offering an apology for the lack of dividend payments.

Meanwhile, Mitsubishi Motors, which has not paid an annual dividend for about a decade, saw a record-high attendance of 1,966 shareholders at its two-hour annual meeting in Tokyo where participants poured out complaints over the uncertain outlook for its business.

"I check (the share price) in the newspaper every morning and... I'm only left with a sense of dismay," one male shareholder said. "How many years do I need to keep hanging onto these shares in order to receive a dividend?"

Hiizu Ichikawa, a managing director at Mitsubishi Motors, responded, "We feel awful about continuing the nonpayment of dividends for such a long period and we realize that paying dividends is one of the most important responsibilities for the management."

Japan's top three automakers -- Toyota Motor Corp, Honda Motor Co., and Nissan Motor Co. -- and other electronics makers like Hitachi Ltd. and Sharp Corp. will hold their shareholders meeting on Tuesday.

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