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July 05, 2025
 

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INVESTMENTS

Katsunori Tanaka, an ex-Goldman Sachs analyst who now heads hedge fund Ariake Capital, is betting big on Japan's smaller regional banks.
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 25, 2025
Ex-Goldman analyst’s hedge fund reaps 300% returns on small Japan banks
Katsunori Tanaka spent years at Goldman Sachs scrutinizing Japan’s biggest banks. Now at Ariake Capital, he obsesses over much smaller regional lenders.
Japan has become one of the biggest markets for activist investors, with the government and institutions such as the Tokyo Stock Exchange pushing companies to pay more attention to stock prices and shareholder returns.
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 24, 2025
Elliott said to have built up significant stake in Sumitomo Realty
The size of the stake in isn’t known but the activist investor has engaged with the Tokyo-based real estate developer on measures to improve shareholder value, sources say.
At the inauguration of a factory owned by Japanese power electronics manufacturer TMEIC in Tumakuru, India, in 2017. Although Japanese companies have become a significant presence in India, the flow of fresh investment has slowed down.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Mar 23, 2025
Japan-India business ties can go the extra mile
After remarkable growth, Japan-India business ties are plateauing. Companies on both sides need help from their governments to promote more understanding and, hence, opportunities.
Citizens’ holdings of cash in the three months ended in December was down 3.4% from a year earlier in the biggest drop in the data going back to 1998.
BUSINESS / Economy
Mar 21, 2025
Japan’s households slash cash at record pace as inflation bites
The decline mostly likely reflects the wider adoption of cashless consumption as well as a rise in nominal consumer spending due to inflation.
Alain Bouchard (left), chairman and founder of Alimentation Couche-Tard, speaks during a news conference in Tokyo on March 13.
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 19, 2025
Couche-Tard meets privately with Seven & I investors, pressing case for takeover
The Canadian firm has sought to reassure the public and key stakeholders that it's not considering a hostile takeover, despite a monthslong standoff with Seven & I.
Despite recent market volatility and trade tariff concerns, Japan continues to see fund launches as global investors are drawn to its stock market.
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 18, 2025
Hong Kong hedge fund Polymer joins rush to debut pure Japan funds, sources say
The move will see the heavyweight joining a wave of fund launches in Japan.
Yields on Japanese government bonds have climbed to the highest since 2006 as traders expect the Bank of Japan to keep hiking interest rates this year while peers from the U.S. to Australia ease monetary policy.
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 18, 2025
Pimco takes profit on Japan bond trade as interest rates rise
The American investment management firm has turned "overall neutral” on Japanese government bonds.
Shares of major trading houses Mitsubishi, Marubeni, Mitsui, Itochu and Sumitomo climbed 4% Tuesday in Tokyo after Berkshire Hathaway increased its stakes in them.
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 18, 2025
Berkshire Hathaway increases stakes in Japan’s biggest trading houses
Warren Buffett has indicated that the trading houses have agreed to 'moderately' relax a previous ceiling of 10% on his stakes, leaving room for further buying.
The Nikkei stock average on the Tokyo Stock Exchange on Tuesday. Many firms on the TSE have price-to-book ratios of less than 1, lowering the perceived quality of the exchange, which should consider taking steps to increase valuations and trading volume.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Mar 14, 2025
Tokyo Stock Exchange must weed out underperforming firms
Tokyo wants to become Asia's top financial hub, but faces big obstacles. Among them, the presence of too many companies with low profitability and growth prospects.
New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon speaks at an event in Auckland on Sept. 20.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Mar 13, 2025
New Zealand pitches itself as safe haven in ‘global storm’
Christopher Luxon’s center-right government wants more foreign direct investment to boost economic growth ahead of a 2026 election.
Nomura Holdings is moving to a new office in Dubai, with double the space at its previous location, and hiring in Singapore, to expand its wealth business.
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 12, 2025
Nomura expands in Singapore and Dubai as global business turns profit
The Tokyo-based firm is seeking to more than double assets under management at the global unit to $60 billion, and expects its relationship manager headcount to grow by about 50.
Nomura Holdings and Japan's other big brokers are having second thoughts about selling so-called structured loans to regional lenders.
BUSINESS / Economy
Mar 11, 2025
Japan brokers rethink repackaged JGBs after regulator warning
There are concerns that buyers might lack proper risk management for the product and could suffer mounting losses if market interest rates move against them.
Japan logged a deficit of ¥257.6 billion in the current account, a measure of trade and investment flows, compared with a surplus of ¥334.3 billion a year before, according to the Finance Ministry.
BUSINESS / Economy
Mar 10, 2025
Japan logs its first current account deficit in two years in January
The nation logged a deficit of ¥257.6 billion in the current account compared with a surplus of ¥334.3 billion a year before.
Japanese Ambassador to Sri Lanka Akio Isomata (left) and secretary to Sri Lanka's Finance Ministry, Mahinda Siriwardana, attend a joint news conference after the signing of debt restructuring agreements between the two countries in Colombo on Friday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Mar 8, 2025
Sri Lanka signs $2.5 billion debt deal with Japan
Japan said it was granting concessions on a ¥369.45 billion ($2.5 billion) loan under a comprehensive debt treatment plan.
Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 7, 2025
Bank of America CEO willing to hire in Japan amid revival
The bank, based in Charlotte, North Carolina, has about 800 employees in Japan.
Seth Fischer, chief investment officer of Oasis Management, speaks during an interview in Tokyo on Tuesday.
BUSINESS
Mar 6, 2025
Oasis says investors back its proposed board changes at Kao
Oasis, which holds a 5.2% stake in Kao, has presented five candidates to become outside directors of the company.
Tariffs and trade uncertainty are causing the U.S. economy to lose steam, and companies more vulnerable to slower growth are starting to show the cracks.
BUSINESS / Markets
Mar 6, 2025
Investors spy the dawn of a tectonic shift away from U.S. markets
For most of the last three years, investors had bet on "U.S. exceptionalism," with the country ahead of others in economic growth, stock prices and AI.
Takeover bids in Japan are expected to reach a record this year amid growing pressure on companies to boost shareholder returns.
BUSINESS / Markets
Mar 4, 2025
Japan small-cap fund tops rivals with stocks few analysts cover
The NicheJungle Japanese Orphan Companies SDG Fund has exited positions in 20 companies at a profit, with half of these firms taken over since the fund's 2022 launch.
Toyota’s announcement to hand out perks to its shareholders comes as some Japanese firms begin reintroducing perks to attract retail investors.
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 4, 2025
Toyota to hand out shareholder perks to entice retail investors
Some Japanese firms have begun reintroducing perks to attract retail investors, a practice that has drawn criticism from some global funds.
To achieve a stable supply chain and propel semiconductor innovation, Japan's government and chipmakers are increasingly building bridges with foreign firms.
COMMENTARY / Japan / Geoeconomic Briefing
Mar 3, 2025
Japan is no island when it comes to semiconductors. Rightly so.
To achieve a stable supply chain and propel semiconductor innovation, Japan's government and chipmakers are increasingly building bridges with foreign firms.
A prophesied disaster (likely) won’t strike Japan this weekend
A viral manga prediction of a July 5 disaster has gripped Japan with anxiety and triggered an economic impact, but experts warn that while such dates are unreliable, the threat of a massive earthquake remains real. 
Magnitude 5.5 earthquake jars Tokara Islands amid flurry of seismic activity
A strong quake struck off the Tokara Islands on Thursday afternoon, with the island chain having recorded around 1,000 earthquakes since a burst of seismic activity first began on June 21.
Japan to require flight passengers to keep power banks within sight
The transport ministry has announced new regulations requiring flight passengers to keep power banks within sight to mitigate fire risks while on board planes.
Ghibli’s Isao Takahata exhibit shows how beloved anime is made
“The man who planted Japanese animation” exhibition includes a variety of sketches, drawings and animation cels from Isao Takahata films such as color design for characters by Michiyo Yasuda from "Grave of the Fireflies."
Residents of Tokara Islands begin evacuation as seismic swarm continues
Details about evacuations from Akuseki Island, located in the Tokara island chain in Kagoshima Prefecture, is seen written on a whiteboard in the city of Kagoshima on Thursday.
Ghibli’s Isao Takahata exhibit shows how beloved anime is made
“The man who planted Japanese animation” exhibition includes a variety of sketches, drawings and animation cels from Isao Takahata films such as color design for characters by Michiyo Yasuda from "Grave of the Fireflies."
Flag football facing challenges and opportunities ahead
Japan’s women’s flag football team at the 2025 International Bowl in Los Angeles in June. The sport is enjoying continued growth in the country.
From Hokusai’s Great Wave, shinkansen to One Piece: a cultural treasure box for Lego Japan
Michael Ebbesen, general manager of Lego Japan, says Lego bricks based on Japanese culture have a rich global appeal and are sellable around the world.
With farmed fish, RelationFish swims against the tide in fine dining
Chef Hideaki Matsuo (middle) and the staff of Oseto Suisan Fisheries prepare to check on their sustainably farmed fish.
As Southeast Asia heats up, a Japanese cooling giant sees a major opportunity
An employee of Daikin Cambodia explains the use of different tools during an air conditioner installation training session in Phnom Penh. Daikin is one of Japan’s oldest air conditioning companies, but as Japan’s population falls, the firm is keying in on overseas growth.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Longform

Mount Fuji is considered one of Japan's most iconic symbols and is a major draw for tourists. It's still a mountain, though, and potential hikers need to properly prepare for any climb.
What it takes to save lives on Mount Fuji
By Alex K.T. Martin

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

Smile! It’s ‘Sanrio Time,’ now and ever after
Smile! It’s ‘Sanrio Time,’ now and ever after

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