Beji Sasaki, a maverick businessman who first challenged Tokyo's status quo four decades ago, says his bidding war with the $13 billion computer giant Fujitsu Ltd. is just the start of his plan to use takeovers to change Japan Inc.
Sasaki, a 61-year-old entrepreneur, fashion designer and supermarathon runner, says he's setting up a fund backed by Taiwanese money to help ambitious Japanese executives and employees buy out their companies and expand into China and Southeast Asia.
His logic is that many firms are undervalued because their owners or senior managers lack incentives to take risks and boost profits.