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July 05, 2026
 

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Takako Taniguchi
SoftBank, which already has a foothold in the payment services industry, is among the parties that have advanced to the second round of bidding for SP.Links.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 3, 2026
SoftBank among the bidders for Blackstone’s Japanese payment firm
Japan’s cashless payments market has expanded for more than a decade as consumers who once overwhelmingly favored paper money turn to electronic services.
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.
Tokyo-based Nikkon has selected financial advisers for a privatization process and has also set up a special committee made up of outside directors to consider the matter, sources have said.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 21, 2026
Nikkon weighs going private; Bain Capital, Blackstone and others likely to bid
The logistics company has selected financial advisers for the privatization process and set up a committee of outside directors to consider the matter, sources have said.
PAG President and co-founder Jon-Paul Toppino says competition for property investment in Japan has intensified as more global firms enter the market.
BUSINESS / Companies
Apr 30, 2026
PAG beefs up Japan investment with $13 billion in targeted deals
The Asian alternative asset manager plans to invest in real estate and private equity in the next three to four years.
Nomura Securities' trading room in Tokyo. Nomura Holdings took the top spot in advising on Japanese mergers and acquisitions in 2025.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jan 29, 2026
Nomura beats Goldman to top spot in record M&A year for Japan
The total value of mergers and acquisition transactions in Japan shot up 89% to a record ¥59.5 trillion in 2025.
A Wendy’s First Kitchen outlet in Tokyo. The chain has a total of 108 domestic restaurant locations.
BUSINESS / Companies
Dec 16, 2025
Private equity firm Longreach may sell stake in Wendy’s First Kitchen
Japan’s hamburger chain market is expanding thanks to Burger King’s aggressive store-opening strategy and limited price increases that have retained consumers despite inflation.
Auction house Christie's in New York. DIC is selling some of its holdings of valuable artworks at the auction house.
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 18, 2025
Japanese ink maker sells off Monet and Renoir paintings as activists circle
Oasis Management, DIC’s second-largest shareholder, has called on the company to sell off its holdings, saying that paintings aren’t part of the firm’s core business.
Takahiro Kobayashi, the new CEO of Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Asset Management, says the firm is aiming to become one of the top three managers of Japanese mutual funds.
BUSINESS / Companies
Oct 14, 2025
Sumitomo Mitsui Trust’s fund manager targets top-three ranking
The firm is shooting for the higher ranking by driving up two of its funds’ total assets to more than ¥1 trillion each.
Stefanie Drews, CEO of Amova Asset Management, speaks at an event in Tokyo on Monday.
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 2, 2025
‘Nikko’ cut from new name of $260 billion Japanese fund manager
Nikko Asset Management is changing its name to Amova Asset Management.
A wave of corporate governance and capital policy reforms in Japan has led to an increase in buyouts by investment funds, management and founders.
BUSINESS / Companies
Aug 7, 2025
Japanese liquor maker Yomeishu is said to consider going private
A wave of corporate governance and capital policy reforms in Japan has led to an increase in buyouts by investment funds, management and founders.
While shareholders in general still support company management, the notable break from their passive stance is seen as a boon for funds looking to invest in Japan.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jul 14, 2025
Corporate Japan’s shareholders show more clout this AGM season
The notable break from a passive stance is seen as a boon for funds looking to invest in Japan.
Proposals to delist Taiyo Holdings have emerged as Japanese companies face pressure from the Tokyo Stock Exchange to boost their value to stay listed.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 16, 2025
Taiyo to decide on delisting as early as August, president says
The chemical manufacturer is set to hold its annual shareholders’ meeting on Saturday in which its president, Eiji Sato, is likely to face a vote on his ouster.
Nippon Steel Vice Chairman Takahiro Mori at U.S. Steel's Irvin Works facility in West Mifflin, Pennsylvania, on May 30
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 11, 2025
3D urges shareholders to reject new term for Nippon Steel heads
Nippon Steel’s large-scale capital investment plan “significantly” exceeds the company’s market value, 3D said in a statement.
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.
Blackstone said it agreed to purchase 60% of Tokyo-based CMIC, a contract research organization, in a deal that values the company in the hundreds of millions of dollars.
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 3, 2025
Blackstone buys Japan drug trial firm, adding to private equity health deals
Blackstone has been increasingly active in Japan’s life science sector amid a wider buyout boom in the country.
The scramble to take Fuji Soft private is rooted in the value of the software company’s trove of human resources and real estate.
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 20, 2025
KKR wins control of $4.4 billion Fuji Soft after Bain clash
KKR aims to acquire the remaining shares in the software company through a squeeze-out process.
Sapporo beer
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 18, 2025
Activist fund criticizes Sapporo after ‘acquisition failures’
The Singapore-based investment fund censured the management over “impairment losses on all of its overseas alcoholic beverage acquisitions.”
Yokohama-based Fuji Soft held a board meeting on Friday and decided to stick with KKR’s tender for its shares despite receiving a higher bid from Bain Capital.
BUSINESS / Companies
Oct 20, 2024
Fuji Soft sticks with KKR despite higher takeover offer from Bain
The special committee advising Fuji Soft said it would be difficult for Bain to take the company private, according to a statement.
Toyota's plan to buy back shares from major banks and insurers is part of a broader push to unwind strategic shareholdings with financial partners.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jul 23, 2024
Toyota to buy back stock worth $5.2 billion from banks and insurers
Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group, Tokio Marine Holdings and MS&AD Insurance Group Holdings are tendering shares at an 11% discount.
Blackstone's private equity fund says Japanese individual investors are highly interested in alternatives and their understanding of the asset class is deepening.
BUSINESS / Markets
Jul 23, 2024
Blackstone Japan fund exceeds $1B as investors warm up to private equity
As inflation takes hold in the country, investors are exploring more alternative assets on government encouragement to invest more of their cash.
‘My dream is broken’: Japan visa rules push out foreign residents
A man orders from a kebab shop in the Okubo district in Tokyo.
Japan plans to sharply raise fees for residence permits from October
Foreign tourists walk on the path leading to the Kiyomizu Temple in Kyoto in May.
Japan’s princesses face life-altering legal revisions
Princess Aiko, the daughter of Emperor Naruhito, said in a 2022 news conference upon coming of age that she hopes to “spend a long time together” with her parents.
Japanese police arrest nine over Sierra Leone-based special fraud
Japanese police have arrested nine individuals for their alleged involvement in a special fraud case using Sierra Leone as a base.
Japanese-language education is at a turning point
The country is gradually transforming Japanese-language education from a volunteer-driven system into a professional, government-supported network to better serve its growing foreign population. 
Japan plans to sharply raise fees for residence permits from October
Foreign tourists walk on the path leading to the Kiyomizu Temple in Kyoto in May.
X Games returns to Chiba with new team format
Skateboarder Sora Shirai practices at Makuhari Messe in Chiba on Friday afternoon. X Games Chiba begins on Saturday.
NU Festival tests Takanawa Gateway City complex’s culture cred
Veteran improvisers Kazuo Imai and Atsuhiro Ito brought some unruly energy to NU Festival, a three-day multimedia event held at the Takanawa Gateway City complex.  
Japan’s princesses face life-altering legal revisions
Princess Aiko, the daughter of Emperor Naruhito, said in a 2022 news conference upon coming of age that she hopes to “spend a long time together” with her parents.
Six of the best: rikishi of note in each sumo division
Kazuma (right) faces off against future <i>yokozuna</i> Onosato during the All Japan Amateur Sumo Championships at the Ryogoku Kokugikan in Tokyo in December 2020.

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