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July 04, 2026
 

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Lisa Du
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.
A Nippon Express logistics facility in Tokyo. Elliott Investment Management has bought a 5% stake in the Tokyo-based logistics company.
BUSINESS / Companies
Apr 28, 2026
Nippon Express shares make record jump as Elliott takes stake
Shares in the Tokyo-based logistics company jumped as much as 18% after the U.S. hedge fund disclosed a 5.04% stake.
Ezaki Glico, maker of Pocky chocolate snacks, is one of the consumer stocks adopted in this year’s Gyoseki contest backed by BlackRock and Point72 Asset Management.
BUSINESS / Companies
Apr 20, 2026
Contest backed by Point72 and BlackRock seeks Japanese banking talent
Now in its fourth year, the competition has students obsessing over sales of toothpaste, diapers and chocolate to analyze product companies.
Berkshire Hathaway's investment in Tokio Marine Holdings underscores the company's growing ambitions in Japan.
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 24, 2026
Berkshire Hathaway to invest $1.8 billion in Tokio Marine
National Indemnity Company, a subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway, will make a 2.49% strategic investment in Tokio Marine, underscoring Berkshire’s growing ambitions in Japan.
Investors are starting to focus on shipping assets, as good-quality Japanese-built used vessels command high prices, and transport disruptions due to the Iran war have further boosted valuations of large tankers.
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 23, 2026
Activists target Japan’s shipping stocks on rising vessel prices
Quality Japanese-built used vessels command high prices, and transport disruptions due to the Iran war have further boosted valuations of large tankers.
An LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton-backed private equity firm is planning to invest in consumer businesses in Japan ranging from cosmetics to food, pet care and restaurants.
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 16, 2026
LVMH-backed private equity firm targets ¥50 billion in Japan deals
L Catterton has focused most of its investments on private, family-run businesses with succession challenges or newer companies that need help expanding.
The average prices of new condos in central Tokyo grew about 22% to ¥136 million in 2025.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jan 27, 2026
Tokyo condo prices hit record high on tight supply and surging building costs
The average price of a new condo in Tokyo and its surrounding areas rose 17% to ¥91.8 million.
Brookfield Asset Management will move to the landmark Roppongi Hills development, in April from its current office in Kasumigaseki, an area home to government agencies, according to people familiar with the matter.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jan 20, 2026
Brookfield to move to Roppongi Hills in Japan office expansion
The New York-based investment firm’s move will accommodate a Japan team that has doubled in recent years.
Property in Japan has been attractive to foreign funds because borrowing costs still remain low relative to other developed markets.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jan 5, 2026
Goldman seeks to raise $500 million for Japan real estate fund
The firm has been pitching investors in recent months, capitalizing on a resurgence in the local property market fueled by low borrowing costs and a weak yen.
Akio Toyoda, the chairman of Toyota Motor, leads unlisted real estate company Toyota Fudosan, which is leading the offer to take Toyota Industries private.
BUSINESS / Companies
Dec 18, 2025
Elliott woos other Toyota industries investors in buyout fight
The activist fund wants to push Toyota group to sweeten its ¥4.7 trillion bid.
U.S. private equity firm General Atlantic has taken a minority stake in Japan's human resources software platform SmartHR.
BUSINESS
Nov 18, 2025
General Atlantic enters Japan with investment in unicorn SmartHR
The New York-based private equity firm said it purchased a $96 million minority stake in human resources software platform SmartHR.
Elliott Investment Management has shared its views with Toyota Industries management that the ¥16,300 per share buyout offer is too low and suggested other options for the deal, people familiar with the matter say.
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 12, 2025
Elliott takes Toyota Industries stake and sees buyout price as too low
Toyota Industries disclosed in a filing that Elliott Investment Management had a 3.26% stake as of Sept. 30, making it one of the manufacturer’s biggest shareholders.
Global firms are racing to carve out space in Japan’s lending market, betting that demand for private credit will surge, albeit slowly.
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 5, 2025
Private credit dealmakers face years of heavy lifting in Japan
Building deal flow will require time — and education — as Japanese borrowers grow familiar with how private debt works and what it can offer.
A survey showed that some potential homebuyers in Tokyo are delaying purchases while others are wary of missing out on opportunities posed by rising home prices.
BUSINESS / Economy
Oct 17, 2025
Tokyo homebuyers split on purchase plans as living costs soar, survey shows
Some are delaying purchases while others are wary of missing out on opportunities posed by rising home prices.
KKR Co-CEO Joe Bae says that if Japan doesn’t invest in areas such as automation, robotics and artificial intelligence, "the aging population and decline will become a bigger and bigger challenge for its success as a nation.”
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 26, 2025
KKR chiefs bet aging Japan will fuel AI and technology investment
Japan has become a key growth area for New York-based KKR.
Elliott Investment Management has acquired a stake in Japanese regional utility Kansai Electric Power, according to a person familiar with the matter.
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 10, 2025
Activist fund Elliott reported to take stake in Kansai Electric, eyeing assets
Activist hedge funds have been honing in on property held by Japanese companies valued at its original cost on their balance sheets as part of their investment strategy.
The entrance of Nissan's global headquarters, in Yokohama
BUSINESS
Aug 21, 2025
KKR is a front-runner in Nissan’s $610 million HQ sale
KJR Management, a Japanese real estate unit of KKR, offered around ¥90 billion ($610 million) for the 22-story office building.
Bain Capital has about five deals under discussion that leverage a strategy to unlock value from real estate assets held by Japanese companies.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 10, 2025
With ¥723 billion in Japan real estate already, Bain ramps up property deals
Property is becoming a key feature of the booming private equity landscape in Japan, as global investment firms look to scoop up undervalued assets.
A high-rise building in Tokyo's Minato Ward built by Sumitomo Realty & Development
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 9, 2025
Elliott calls for Sumitomo Realty improvements in rare letter
The letter is a rare public move by Elliott, which has kept quiet on most of its Japan investments.
Goldman Sachs Asset Management Japan is expanding its business as Japanese institutional investors are increasingly willing to hire third parties to help oversee their trillions of dollars in assets.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 9, 2025
Goldman CIO service suddenly catches on in Japan after 10 years
The return of inflation after two decades has added pressure on Japan’s pensions and insurance companies to seek higher returns.
‘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 triples departure tax in push to combat overtourism
Tourists in Yanaka Ginza, Tokyo, on Wednesday. Japan tripled its International Tourist Tax (departure tax) to ¥3,000 from ¥1,000 on Wednesday for all travelers leaving Japan, regardless of nationality.
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. 
More facilities in Japan placing sanitary bins in men’s restrooms
A sanitary bin with an awareness sticker placed in a men's restroom in the Nagasaki Municipal Government building
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.
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.
Some startups see opportunity in an aging Japan
Yasmin Baba, CTO of Amilis, wins the Grand Prize at the Pitch2Tokyo Grand Final on Feb. 19.
Japan’s fertility system offers few safe paths for same-sex couples
A Tokyo Pride parade participant holds a sign that says "we want to be a married couple, not a couple."
Life inside Japan’s largest prison for women
Western-style rooms spanning the size of four tatami mats with hardwood floors, a toilet and soft mattresses on bed frames are designated for foreign nationals and those with health conditions at Tochigi Prison.
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.

Podcast

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

Longform

The Terasaka Rice Terraces are seen with Mount Buko in the background.
What Yokoze can teach Japan about rural revival
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