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July 05, 2025
 

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MERGERS

Medipal is expanding into areas such as animal health products and drug development as margins from selling pharmaceuticals become squeezed in Japan.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jul 1, 2025
Medipal seeks to diversify amid falling drug margins
Japan’s largest drug wholesaler is seeking to boost profit, excluding extraordinary items, to ¥100 billion by March 2027 from ¥65 billion in the latest fiscal year.
U.S. President Donald Trump receives a gold helmet with his name on it during a visit to U.S. Steel in West Mifflin, Pennsylvania.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 27, 2025
Trump himself will wield U.S. Steel ‘golden share’ superpowers
After the U.S. president leaves office, the authority will move to executive branch departments.
Nippon Steel Chairman and CEO Eiji Hashimoto (left) and Nippon Steel Vice Chairman and Executive Vice President Takahiro Mori. The Japanese company is still undecided about a civil suit filed against a U.S. competitor.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 20, 2025
Nippon Steel drops lawsuit against U.S. government after acquiring U.S. Steel
The Japanese company had challenged the legality of U.S. President Joe Biden's rejection of the acquisition.
Japan’s governance reforms launched in 2015 sparked a surge in M&A and investor activism, but critics warn the resulting foreign takeovers and short-term focus may come at a cost.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jun 20, 2025
Has Japan's corporate revolution worked too well?
From private equity to activist investors to consolidation among companies fearful they’ll be targeted next, no acquisition seems beyond the pale.
U.S. President Donald Trump’s reversal on the Nippon Steel deal creates a "win-win-win-win" situation benefiting both companies, the U.S. economy, and the Japan-U.S. alliance, but the golden share raises concerns about increased government control.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jun 17, 2025
Nippon Steel deal signals a win for the U.S. economy and Japan alliance
Last week, Trump lifted the Biden block, saying that the acquisition could go forward if the two companies signed a national security agreement with the U.S. government.
Nippon Steel is buying United States Steel in a deal that gives the U.S. government a golden share in the U.S. steelmaker.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 16, 2025
Nippon Steel may have gotten the deal it wanted all along
The Japanese company has already committed to heavy investment in U.S. Steel and a U.S.-controlled board of directors at the American steelmaker.
U.S. government's "golden share" in U.S. Steel will require the company to obtain approval from the U.S. president before relocating its headquarters from Pittsburgh or changing its name, U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said Saturday.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 15, 2025
'Golden share' to help U.S. Steel keep name and prevent relocation
The move will also prevent Nippon Steel from transferring production or jobs outside the U.S. without consent of the U.S. president.
A production line at a plate rolling mill is seen at Nippon Steel's East Nippon Works Kimitsu Area plant in Kimitsu, Chiba Prefecture, last month.
BUSINESS / Companies / FOCUS
Jun 14, 2025
Debt to decarbonization: challenges for Nippon Steel
The Japanese giant faces numerous headwinds going forward, including onerous U.S. trade tariffs and lackluster global demand.
The Nippon Steel logo is displayed at the company's East Nippon Works Kimitsu Area plant in Kimitsu, Chiba Prefecture, last month.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 14, 2025
Trump gives formal blessing to Nippon Steel's $14.8 billion bid for U.S. Steel
The approval capped a tumultuous 18-month effort by the companies, beset by union opposition and national security reviews.
A Mitsubishi Fuso Truck and Bus eCanter electric truck. The merger between Toyota Motor and Daimler Truck comes as the commercial vehicle industry faces mounting pressure to adapt as electrification, autonomous driving and emissions compliance reshape global transport.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 11, 2025
Toyota and Daimler finalize plan to merge truck units in 2026
The tie-up comes amid a mutual desire to boost margins and develop new technologies.
Daiwa Securities CEO Akihiko Ogino says mergers and acquisition deals are harder to come by this year due to uncertainties over U.S. President Donald Trump's trade policy.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 3, 2025
Daiwa pauses M&A hiring as tariff uncertainty chokes deal pipeline
The assessment from Japan’s second-largest brokerage indicates how changes in global trade policy are rippling through spending activity.
Tsuruha shareholders approved a merger plan with Welcia, which will result in an effective acquisition by supermarket chain Aeon.
BUSINESS
May 26, 2025
Tsuruha shareholders approve future merger with rival drugstore Welcia
Tsuruha, based in Sapporo, has announced it will integrate its operations with Welcia, the biggest force within the Japanese pharmacy industry, in December.
An Aeon store in Osaka. Aeon, the country’s largest supermarket chain operator, last month said it will launch a tender offer to make Tsuruha a consolidated subsidiary at ¥11,400 per share.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 23, 2025
Tsuruha shareholders to vote on criticized Aeon merger plan
The chorus reflects rising shareholder activism in Japan in recent years as the country’s governance reforms embolden investors.
The Tokyo Stock Exchange building in Nihonbashi. The exchange wants companies to lower the entry cost of investing in their shares.
BUSINESS / Markets
May 14, 2025
Tokyo Stock Exchange wants stocks to be affordable for the average investor
Attracting more small investors could help reduce volatility due to the introduction of a wider range of investment strategies.
Japan’s carmakers are being pushed to combine their resources in an environment roiled by tariffs, as well as to counter Chinese auto firms’ rapid expansion.
BUSINESS / Companies
Apr 30, 2025
Japan's carmakers face consolidation amid tariffs and China's rise, says hedge fund
Man Group’s Stephen Harget thinks the phenomenon could be Japan-specific as automakers in other regions have already been through such a cycle.
Regional lenders Daishi Hokuetsu Financial Group and Gunma Bank have entered into an agreement to consolidate their businesses in 2027.
BUSINESS / Companies
Apr 24, 2025
Regional lenders Daishi Hokuetsu and Gunma Bank agree to consolidate
The banks have entered a memorandum of understanding to integrate their businesses under a holding company structure on or around April 1, 2027.
Toyota Motor and Daimler Truck are expected to finalize the merger agreement as early as May.
BUSINESS / Companies
Apr 22, 2025
Toyota and Daimler near merger of truck units, report says
The two auto groups aim to establish a holding company for the truck units and list it on the Tokyo Stock Exchange's Prime market in April 2026.
A Bank of Kyoto branch in the city of Kyoto. Kyoto Financial Group has been a symbol of Japan’s old guard holding out against selling the stakes, given its historic ties to exporters based in the city including Nintendo, Nidec and Kyocera.
BUSINESS / Companies
Apr 16, 2025
Kyoto bank shifts stance on mergers and cuts to cross-shareholdings
Kyoto Financial has been a symbol of Japan’s old guard holding out against selling the stakes, given its historic ties to exporters based in the city.
Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance (above) and Aioi Nissay Dowa Insurance plan to merge in April 2027.
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 28, 2025
Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance to merge with Aioi Nissay Dowa
The merger will create the biggest nonlife insurer in Japan, overtaking current industry leader Tokio Marine & Nichido Fire Insurance.
Masuo Fukuda, head of Citigroup’s investment banking business in Tokyo, says the hiring in Tokyo started in December targeting various levels of bankers.
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 27, 2025
Citigroup hiring dealmakers in Japan with fee pool seen reviving
The Wall Street firm is expanding its investment banking team in Japan as it bets the country’s deal fee pool will finally rebound.
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.

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