Last month Japan Tobacco, perhaps as a kind of Christmas present to itself, announced it was going to buy Gallaher Plc of the United Kingdom. The quoted figure for the deal was 2.25 trillion yen (14.5 billion euro), making it the largest-ever foreign takeover by a Japanese company.

JT was already an industry giant, with sales in 2005 of 4.7 billion yen (30 million euro), making it the world's No. 3.

By combining with Gallaher, the fifth-ranked tobacco company in the world, JT will solidify its global position and gain access to new markets, such as Eastern Europe, where it had little presence before.