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July 12, 2026
 

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INVESTMENTS

International Monetary Fund Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva speaks with other participants at the IMF/World Bank Spring Meetings in Washington on Wednesday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Apr 16, 2026
Markets are too nonchalant about Iran war’s economic toll, policymakers warn
While oil prices have soared, the full extent of the pain from what the IEA has called the biggest energy shock the world has ever seen has yet to be felt.
SoftBank Group's mega loan highlights how much debt founder Masayoshi Son is willing for the company to take on as it seeks to secure the firm’s pivotal role in the global AI race.
BUSINESS / Companies
Apr 15, 2026
SoftBank lenders ask more banks to join $40 billion OpenAI loan
The move forms one of the biggest tests yet of creditor sentiment toward the Japanese conglomerate’s debt-fueled push further into artificial intelligence.
The Tokyo Stock Exchange in Tokyo’s Chuo Ward
BUSINESS / Markets
Apr 15, 2026
Japan exchanges eye call-option ETFs to attract global investors
The push underscores the ambition of Japanese stock exchanges to attract more global capital by strengthening areas where they lag international peers.
Daiichi Life Group believes strict selection of managers and risk management after making private credit investments are key.
BUSINESS / Companies
Apr 15, 2026
Daiichi Life to tighten private credit manager selection on risk
Bankruptcies of corporate borrowers in the U.S. have fueled concern about putting cash in the market, and the worries are starting to affect Japanese firms’ investment decisions.
Japan has become one of the world’s most active markets for mergers and acquisitions in terms of deal growth as the nation’s companies face pressure from investors to deploy cash into growth investments.
BUSINESS / Companies
Apr 14, 2026
M&A boom in Japan is fueling record corporate bond sales
Japan has become one of the most active markets for mergers and acquisitions in terms of deal growth as investors pressure companies there to deploy cash into growth investments.
Young Japanese are rapidly embracing investing through programs like NISA amid rising markets, and while critics warn of “NISA poverty,” the trend largely reflects a positive shift toward asset-building.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Apr 14, 2026
Are Japan’s youth really in ‘investment poverty’?
let the young max out their retirement account if they like; politicians should focus on ways to boost young people’s take-home pay.
Naoki Suzuki, KJRM Holdings’ president, says the KKR unit’s real estate holdings jumped 20% to about ¥2.53 trillion in 2025, among the biggest in Japan.
BUSINESS / Companies
Apr 13, 2026
KKR unit to boost buying in ¥450 trillion Japan property market
Japanese companies are facing pressure from policymakers and investors to divest non-core assets including real estate, and KJRM Holdings says it sees profit potential there.
Members of Nihon Hidankyo at a news conference in Tokyo on Friday
JAPAN
Apr 10, 2026
Nihon Hidankyo urges investment ban on makers of nuclear weapons
The organization will make the request directly to financial institutions, including some of Japan’s largest banks.
Matsue, Shimane Prefecture, is known for its traditional townscape, including shrines and stone-paved streets, but turning this heritage into a stronger draw for tourists had long been a challenge.
BUSINESS / Companies
Apr 10, 2026
Financial support program for community-focused startups draws growing interest
The continuation rate for supported projects is high, and the program has received positive reviews from communities for providing tangible benefits.
Mizuho Trust & Banking President & CEO Kenichi Sasada at the group's office in Tokyo last month
BUSINESS
Apr 7, 2026
Mizuho Trust to partner with Nasdaq to attract global investors
“Companies need dialogue” with overseas investors to spur investment for growth, President and CEO Kenichi Sasada said.
Nippon Life Insurance's Tokyo headquarters
BUSINESS / Companies
Apr 7, 2026
SMFG and Nippon Life discuss $3 billion LBO loan fund
The move would mark a milestone in Japan’s credit market, where the three biggest banks have dominated lending.
Women walk under a sign of the Financial Services Agency in Tokyo. By conditionally easing capital adequacy regulations for banks, the FSA aims to promote industrial reorganization and support startups and midsize companies in rural areas.
BUSINESS / Economy
Apr 4, 2026
FSA to ease bank capital rules to promote investment
The plan is to reduce capital buffers against loss risks while still maintaining fiscal soundness, informed sources said Friday.
Workers process copper at the Glogow smelting plant in southwestern Poland.
WORLD
Apr 3, 2026
‘Metals of the future’: copper and silver flow beneath Poland’s surface
Driven by the rise of artificial intelligence, renewable energies, and global defense needs, demand for metals found underneath Poland is expected to keep increasing in the future.
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.
The Ajinomoto headquarters building in Tokyo. Activist fund Palliser Capital has built a stake in Ajinomoto and is urging the firm to raise prices for its chip-insulation products.
BUSINESS / Companies
Apr 2, 2026
Activist fund Palliser presses Ajinomoto to raise prices for chip material
The U.K.-based fund is calling for a more than 30% increase in prices for Ajinomoto Build-Up Film, used to package high-performance semiconductors.
Japanese companies including Mitsubishi, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking and Toyota Ventures invested in a $147 million Africa-focused venture fund, highlighting rising interest in African startups.
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 31, 2026
Japanese investors back new VC fund targeting African startups
The backing by large firms underscores the growing interest from the nation in African companies as they contend with a shrinking market and relatively low interest rates at home.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi attends the Council for Science, Technology and Innovation meeting in Tokyo on Friday.
JAPAN / Politics
Mar 28, 2026
Japan to promote research and development for dual-use technology
The policy direction reflects the fact that various countries are advancing the military application of advanced technologies.
An oil tanker docked at an oil refinery in Yokohama. Japan is feeling the pain of the war in Iran acutely as it imports more than 90% of its crude oil from the Middle East.
BUSINESS / Economy
Mar 27, 2026
Investors game out stagflation risk in Japan as oil prices rise
Global funds including Allianz Global Investors and Amundi are already hedging against stagflation with the Iran conflict nearing the one-month mark.
Tim Rowe, the founder and executive chair of Cambridge Innovation Center, at CIC Tokyo on March 6.
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 25, 2026
Global startup hub chief calls for more government support from Japan
The founder of Cambridge Innovation Center said boosted policy support is key to reach the country’s goal of ¥10 trillion a year in investments by 2027.
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.
China’s demand for Soviet-style apartments shows limits to revival
Apartments built during a Soviet Union-inspired construction drive in the 1970s and 1980s tend to suffer from poor insulation and outdated plumbing, but they are seeing a revival in interest due to their attractive locations.
Japanese scientists identify neural mechanism that may explain why we dislike people
The aggressive mouse (left) used in the experiment and a mouse defending itself
Japanese payment processor’s collapse hits banks and restaurants
Zentoshin served around 200,000 shops, many of which rely on early payments to maintain cash flow, raising concerns over their financial stability following the disruption.
Over 70% of accommodations in Japan say they are understaffed amid tourism influx
The number of foreign visitors to Japan reached a high of 42.68 million in 2025.
Lenders seek $700 million after Japanese payments firm’s collapse
The financial failure of Osaka-based Zentoshin has left 63 creditors with claims totaling ¥115.16 billion, according to Tokyo Shoko Research.
Japan’s largest exhibition of women photographers rights a wrong in cultural history
Miwa Yanagi’s “Elevator Girl House” series skewers the superficiality of gender roles through staged images.
Over 70% of accommodations in Japan say they are understaffed amid tourism influx
The number of foreign visitors to Japan reached a high of 42.68 million in 2025.
‘Princess Mononoke’ comes alive in Super Kabuki staging
The “Princess Mononoke” adaptation was created under Shochiku’s Super Kabuki initiative, a modern form of kabuki with more technology in staging and open to pop culture collaborations.
The beating heart inside ‘Human Vapor’
Different forms of love and connection form the emotional backbone of Netflix’s “Human Vapor,” says actor Shun Oguri, who plays troubled detective Kenji Okamoto.
Japan bets on character IP to drive global growth
Born on social media platforms in 2022, Opanchu Usagi has become a major hit, especially among Generation Z.

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
By Alex K.T. Martin

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