The end of an era of essentially free money in Japan, a flurry of dealmaking and the AI boom have unleashed record overseas borrowing by the nation’s firms whose renewed swagger is shaking up global markets.
Japanese companies have raised $132 billion in foreign-currency bond and loan deals arranged by banks so far in 2025, up 56% from a year earlier. Underscoring the unprecedented shift onto the global stage, annual overseas note issuance is on course to exceed debt sales in yen for the first time ever. That’s all prompted brokerages to beef up staffing, private credit giants to try to make inroads in lending to Japanese firms, and the introduction of a new major index.
Few trends better spotlight how Japan’s emergence from decades of deflation is reshaping global finance and markets. Japanese companies that had hoarded cash for years when economic growth was stagnant are now ramping up spending and acquisitions, making them some of the busiest drivers of global dealmaking this year. New Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, who met with U.S. President Donald Trump last week, has stirred hopes that the trade war could cool further.
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