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August 11, 2026
 

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Hideki Suzuki
MUFG has posted strong quarterly earnings after lending income rose due to higher domestic interest rates and robust loan demand.
BUSINESS / Companies
Aug 4, 2026
MUFG profit beats estimates capping bumper quarter for Â鶹´«Ã½ banks
Net income climbed 48% from a year earlier to ?809.4 billion in the three months ended June 30, exceeding analysts¡¯ ?633.4 billion average estimate.
Seven & I Holdings is mulling a new share issuance totaling several hundred billion yen to SoftBank and PayPay.
BUSINESS / Companies / ANALYSIS
Jul 13, 2026
7-Eleven owner drops go-it-alone strategy with SoftBank deal
Seven & I Holdings is mulling a new share issuance totaling several hundred billion yen to SoftBank as well as PayPay.
The financial failure of Osaka-based Zentoshin has left 63 creditors with claims totaling ?115.16 billion, according to Tokyo Shoko Research.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jul 10, 2026
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.
"I want to achieve the goal we set 20 years ago to become one of the world¡¯s top five banks,¡± Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group CEO Junichi Hanzawa said in his first interview since taking the helm.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jul 7, 2026
MUFG¡¯s new CEO rekindles ambition to claim spot among world¡¯s top five banks
The goal reflects growing confidence within Â鶹´«Ã½ biggest banks, which are forecasting another year of record profits as rates rise and loan demand picks up.
Godiva Japan, which was taken over by Asian private equity fund MBK Partners in 2019, owes about ?75 billion ($464 million) by the end of this month, according to people familiar with the matter.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 23, 2026
Godiva Japan said to seek extension on $464 million leveraged buyout loan
Godiva Japan, which was taken over by Asian private equity fund MBK Partners in 2019, owes about ?75 billion ($464 million) by the end of this month, according to informed sources.
More than 15 firms submitted bids for Sankei Building last month, with several offers exceeding ?1 trillion.
BUSINESS
Jun 4, 2026
Fuji Media¡¯s real estate unit attracts ?1 trillion bids
More than 15 firms submitted bids for Sankei Building last month, with several offers exceeding ?1 trillion ($6.3 billion).
SMBC Nikko Securities is considering a new fund to invest in subordinated loans and preferred shares for acquisition deals involving Japanese companies.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 2, 2026
SMBC Nikko mulls ?100 billion mezzanine fund amid Japan mergers and acquisitions boom
Mezzanine financing is between senior debt and equity in terms of risk, offering potential extra returns for investors.
Mizuho Financial Group¡¯s CEO Masahiro Kihara said on Wednesday that he expects the Bank of Japan to raise interest rates in June or July, though any modest hike is unlikely to have a major market impact.
BUSINESS
May 27, 2026
Mizuho CEO floats idea of first outsized BOJ hike since 1990
Masahiro Kihara says whether the BOJ raises rates in June or July is unlikely to have a big impact on the market unless the increase is large.
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.
Masakazu Osawa, chief executive officer of MUFG Bank, at the company's headquarters in Tokyo on April 17
BUSINESS / Companies
Apr 22, 2026
MUFG Bank seeks more acquisitions after $4.3 billion India deal
Nonbank financial companies are potential targets, MUFG banking unit CEO Masakazu Osawa said, without ruling out further forays.
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 Â鶹´«Ã½ credit market, where the three biggest banks have dominated lending.
MUFG has about 1,300 staff involved globally in the transaction-banking business.
BUSINESS / Companies
Apr 2, 2026
MUFG to take on global peers for slice of $1.3 trillion transaction-banking pie
Â鶹´«Ã½ largest lender is looking to capitalize on its competitive strengths in key Asian markets as it strives to catch up with global peers.
Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group CEO Toru Nakashima says the banking group is seeking growth without large acquisitions.
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 31, 2026
SMFG cools on acquisitions as banking giant sets new profit goal
Â鶹´«Ã½ second-largest lender is aiming for ?2 trillion in profit and a 13% return on tangible equity in three years.
The Japanese Bankers Association will release risk management guidelines for lenders funding leveraged buyout deals, according to sources.
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 12, 2026
Japan main bank lobby to establish risk guidelines for leveraged loans
Smaller regional banks have become more active in the market for such debt as a shrinking population weighs on their traditional lending operations.
Sumitomo Mitsui Trust is keen to tap Raymond James Financial¡¯s clientele to provide funds for mergers and acquisitions and sell Japan-related investment products to wealthy individuals.
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 4, 2026
Sumitomo Mitsui Trust said to ally with Raymond James in U.S.
Raymond James has a broad network of small and medium-sized business clients and wealth management customers across the United States.
Japanese banks, including Mizuho Financial Group, are trying to boost productivity by adopting artificial intelligence while trying to ease concerns that the technology will take away jobs.
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 27, 2026
Mizuho plans to replace 5,000 clerical jobs with AI in 10 years
Â鶹´«Ã½ third-largest lender insists the move is ¡°not a headcount reduction.¡±
Fumitaka Nakahama, head of global corporate and investment banking at Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 6, 2026
MUFG eyes piece of AI boom with hiring for data center financing
Financing AI initiatives is becoming a lucrative business for banks worldwide.
Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group¡¯s net income climbed 6% from a year earlier to ?520.6 billion ($3.3 billion) in the three months ended Dec. 31, according to calculations based on nine-month results released Wednesday.
BUSINESS
Feb 4, 2026
MUFG profit rises as BOJ¡¯s rate increases bolster lending income
Net income climbed 6% from a year earlier to ?520.6 billion ($3.3 billion) in the three months ended Dec. 31.
Known for its Salonpas pain-relief patches, Hisamitsu joins a growing list of Japanese companies exiting the public market to shield themselves from regulatory and investor pressure to lift valuations and implement more oversight.
BUSINESS / Markets
Jan 7, 2026
Hisamitsu shares jump most since 1978 on $2.9 billion buyout
The proposed offer of ?6,082 per share represents a roughly 35% premium to Hisamitsu¡¯s unaffected closing price on Monday.
America¡¯s cyberforces grapple with cluster of deaths by suicide
The U.S. Cyber Command building (center) stands on the National Security Agency campus at Fort Meade, Maryland.
Many Indonesians named after Japanese anime characters
Some people in Indonesia are named Doraemon, the name of a lead character of the blockbuster anime series with the same title.
Yasukuni Shrine introduces ban on military attire and cosplay
People gather in front of thousands of lanterns on display at Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo on July 15 during the Mitama Matsuri, one of the capital's largest summer o-Bon festivals.
As countries ban social media for children, Japan mulls a different approach
Data from NTT Docomo¡¯s Mobile Society Research Institute released in June found that 55% of respondents across all age groups said they fiddled with their phones when they had nothing to do, even when another person was in front of them.
¡®Total whiplash¡¯: Foreign residents react to Â鶹´«Ã½ changing permanent residency rules
The entrance to the Tokyo Immigration Bureau in Minato Ward, Tokyo, in March. For some foreign residents of Japan, tightening measures for permanent residency have become one factor in a broader calculation over whether remaining in the country makes financial sense over the long term.
¡®Total whiplash¡¯: Foreign residents react to Â鶹´«Ã½ changing permanent residency rules
The entrance to the Tokyo Immigration Bureau in Minato Ward, Tokyo, in March. For some foreign residents of Japan, tightening measures for permanent residency have become one factor in a broader calculation over whether remaining in the country makes financial sense over the long term.
Â鶹´«Ã½ brewers experiment with a secret ingredient: music
At Smoke Craft, a craft beer brewery in Tokorozawa, Saitama Prefecture, music isn't just a background to the brewing process ¡ª it's an ingredient.
As countries ban social media for children, Japan mulls a different approach
Data from NTT Docomo¡¯s Mobile Society Research Institute released in June found that 55% of respondents across all age groups said they fiddled with their phones when they had nothing to do, even when another person was in front of them.
J. League enters new era as league kicks off first fall-spring campaign
Players from each J. League club pose during a kickoff event on Monday ahead of the start of the 2026-27 campaign.
Speaking Japanese at the movies with ¡®Chiikawa¡¯
A "Chiikawa The Movie" poster is seen at Toho Cinemas in Shinjuku Ward, Tokyo.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo¡¯s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo¡¯s ¡®stadium of desire¡¯

Longform

Disaster relief workers Taichi Kato (left) and Seiji Yoshimura enter the collapsed living quarters at Kyuganji temple in Yatsushiro, Kumamoto Prefecture.
What Kumamoto revealed about Â鶹´«Ã½ earthquake readiness
By Alex K.T. Martin

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