It started with little fanfare, the series of reforms of Japanese corporate governance that would become one of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s biggest legacies.

Then it built and built. During the more than 7½ years of his second spell in office, Japan Inc. changed notably, becoming more profitable, less insular and more rewarding for investors.

For the hedge funds that bet on Japanese firms throughout the period and pressed them to change, there’s no chance the work that Abe started will be derailed even after he steps down. The genie is out of the bottle, they say, and it can’t be put back in. That’s especially true if, as expected, Abe’s successor continues with his program.