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June 30, 2026
 

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Hideyuki Sano
Japanese AI-related shares are likely to correct over the next two months, but the sector may rebound next year on the prospect of favorable U.S. policy measures, RBC BlueBay Asset Management says.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 29, 2026
BlueBay sees near-term risk in Japan AI stocks followed by rally
AI-related shares are likely to correct over the next two months but the sector may rebound next year on the prospect of favorable U.S. policy measures, says one portfolio manager.
Seth Fischer, the founder of Oasis Management, says Japan’s plan to tighten the threshold for shareholder proposals will hurt retail investors more than it affects activist funds.
BUSINESS / Economy
May 28, 2026
Curb on shareholder rights will hurt retail investors not activists, says Oasis
The government and LDP suggest limiting shareholder proposals to those holding at least 1% of voting rights, up from the current threshold of 300.
Share buybacks by Japanese companies dropped in fiscal 2025 as uncertainty over U.S. tariff policy likely made companies more inclined to hold onto cash.
BUSINESS / Companies
Apr 3, 2026
Japanese firms reduce share buybacks for first time since 2020
Uncertainty over U.S. tariff policy under U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration likely made companies more inclined to hold onto cash.
For Aeon, Kusuri no Aoki represents a potential valuable addition to its strategy of consolidating Japan’s fragmented retail market.
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 16, 2026
A family fights to keep control of 157-year-old firm in Japan
Kusuri no Aoki, run by two brothers, are fighting for control of the firm with their largest outside shareholders, Aeon and the activist fund Oasis Management.
A man uses a phone in front of an electronic board displaying Japan's 10-year government bonds level outside a brokerage in Tokyo on Wednesday.
BUSINESS / Markets
Jan 24, 2026
Sudden chaos in Japan’s bond market puts stock bulls on notice
A bond slump that sent yields soaring to records on her election pitch to cut taxes on food has rippled through markets in Tokyo.
A stock board shows major gains by the Nikkei 225, in Tokyo on Tuesday.
BUSINESS / Markets
Jan 17, 2026
‘Takaichi trade’ faces risks from inflation, yen slump and yield jump
While Japan’s equity benchmarks are repeating a familiar pattern of rallying ahead of Lower House elections, further gains may depend on details of Takaichi’s spending plans.
Foreign investors have bought ¥5.4 trillion ($34.6 billion) of Japanese stocks this year, the largest net inflow since 2013.
BUSINESS / Companies
Dec 30, 2025
New Japanese hedge fund RFM attracts $800 million in first year
Foreign investors have bought $34.6 billion of Japanese stocks this year, the largest net inflow since 2013.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi. Investors are worried that Japan may be spending beyond its means.
BUSINESS / Markets
Nov 22, 2025
Takaichi faces market tests from yen to stocks and bonds
Markets have lost their enthusiasm for Japan’s new prime minister, with about $127 billion wiped off the value of Tokyo-listed stocks over the past week.
Sanae Takaichi, newly elected leader of the Liberal Democratic Party, speaks during a news conference at the party's headquarters in Tokyo on Saturday.
BUSINESS / Markets
Oct 5, 2025
Takaichi’s win to support Japanese stocks but weigh on yen and bonds
Bank stocks will likely struggle on expectations rate hikes will be pushed back, while domestic demand and small-cap shares may get a “significant tailwind,” experts say.
Bank of Japan Gov. Kazuo Ueda announces the central bank's plan to start offloading its massive exchange-traded fund holdings, at a news conference in Tokyo last week.
BUSINESS / Markets
Sep 23, 2025
BOJ seeks to remove stocks overhang with slow sell-down of ETFs
The century-long plan to offload its massive holdings of ETFs, through which it indirectly owns about 7% of Japanese stocks, could begin in early 2026.
SoftBank Group CEO Masayoshi Son’s bets on artificial intelligence have fueled a 146% surge in the stock since the fiscal year began in April.
BUSINESS / Markets
Sep 22, 2025
SoftBank’s heavy weight forces skeptical stock investors to buy
SoftBank shares provided almost 10% of the increase in the Topix’s market capitalization since the end of March.
Drawn by reforms and growing shareholder focus, activist investors are ramping up buying Japanese stocks.
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 16, 2025
Activist funds ramp up Japan bets after record bids last year
The 10 largest activist investors in Japan put an estimated ¥890 billion into Japanese stocks in the first half of this year.
Chugai Pharmaceutical shares sank as much as 20% in Tokyo on Friday after a study revealed that an obesity drug it licensed to Eli Lilly & Co. resulted in lower weight loss and higher rates of nausea and vomiting than anticipated.
BUSINESS / Companies
Aug 8, 2025
Chugai stock drops the most since 1977 on disappointing obesity drug data
A study showed the drug, which it has licensed to Eli Lilly & Co., resulted in lower weight loss and higher rates of nausea and vomiting than anticipated.
Government Pension Investment Fund President Kazuto Uchida says there is no need to change the fund's portfolio even after a trade deal was reached between Japan and the United States.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jul 25, 2025
Japan’s top pension fund keeps strategy amid volatility
As it seeks to ride out the turmoil, the Government Pension Investment Fund aims to enhance portfolio rebalancing with futures and analyze correlations between different assets.
Analysts say the failure of Alimentation Couche-Tard’s attempt to acquire the operator of 7-Eleven stores runs counter to the broader trend in Japan's investing landscape.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jul 18, 2025
Couche-Tard’s failed bid for Seven and I sparks debate over foreign acquisitions
Couche-Tard’s acquisition failure is seen as running counter to the broader trend in the investing landscape in Japan.
The Government Pension Investment Fund suffered a loss in the January-March quarter as a global trade war due to higher U.S. tariffs hurt equities and the outlook for interest-rate cuts dragged down the dollar against the yen.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jul 4, 2025
GPIF logs $61 billion loss as weak dollar hits overseas assets
The pension fund incurred losses on all four of its asset classes in the January-March period, the first time this has occurred since July-September 2022.
Foreign investors bought Japanese stocks for 13 straight weeks to June 27, their longest buying spree since 2013, data from Japan Exchange Group showed.
BUSINESS
Jul 3, 2025
Foreign buying of Japan stocks hits longest spell since 2013
The persistent buying — despite lingering concerns over U.S. tariffs and still sluggish domestic consumption — likely points to diversification away from U.S. equities.
Foreign investors bought a net ¥88.4 billion of Japanese equities in the week that ended on June 20, data has shown.
BUSINESS / Markets
Jun 26, 2025
Foreign buying of Japanese stocks marks 12-week streak, TSE data shows
According to data, foreign investors bought ¥88.4 billion of Japanese equities in the week that ended on June 20.
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.
Toyota Motor Chairman Akio Toyoda. Toyota Industries investor Zennor Asset Management said a plan by Toyoda to take over the Japanese auto parts maker raises governance issues and may undermine minority shareholders’ interests.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 21, 2025
Toyota Industries investor Zennor says it wants minority safeguards
A founding partner of Zennor said the buyout plan would benefit the founding family and may undervalue the target’s stock and real estate holdings.
Uruguay federation reportedly cancels charter flight after World Cup exit
Uruguay's Jose Maria Gimenez reacts after the team's loss against Spain at the 2026 FIFA World Cup on Friday.
Inside Japan’s rigid adoption system, a British family finds a way
James Benstead, his wife, Jesse, and their three children. Their adopted son is in the rear stroller.
India’s gig workers pay the price for exposure to New Delhi’s hazardous air
Rohit Kushwaha waits for a customer as he delivers his last parcel of the day, in New Delhi in January. His work as a delivery driver has helped pay the family’s bills, but has had a significant impact on his health.
Chinese and Russian bombers and fighter jets stage joint patrol near Japan
A Chinese Air Force H-6 bomber is seen during a joint patrol with Russian military aircraft on Saturday.
U.S. missile moves in Japan send China clear message: A new era has arrived
Soldiers conduct the first Typhon midrange capability live-fire exercise outside of the continental United States, firing an SM-6 missile in July last year in Australia's Northern Territory during Exercise Talisman Sabre.
Inside Japan’s rigid adoption system, a British family finds a way
James Benstead, his wife, Jesse, and their three children. Their adopted son is in the rear stroller.
A French ship with close ties to Japan combines arts and sciences on the high seas
Romain Troublé, the executive director of Tara Ocean Foundation, speaks to visitors aboard the Tara during a rare port call in Tokyo in April.
LGBTQ+ families are building lives Japanese lawmakers still struggle to see
Haru Ono founded Nijiiro Kazoku in 2010 after forming a same-sex stepfamily. She said the impetus for founding the organization was that she couldn’t find much reliable information out there for families such as hers in Japan.
In Kyushu’s far south, Senti.U sparks a culinary destination
Chef Yasuhiko Uchida was born in Saga Prefecture but has made his home in Kanoya, Kagoshima Prefecture, since 2012.
‘The colors speak for themselves’: How Japan’s chroma bible went global
“A Dictionary of Color Combinations” is meant to function as a quick-reference guide for artists, designers and anyone with a passing interest in aesthetics as a quantifiable pursuit.

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