Business Despite the ongoing impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, Japanese startups managed to raise a cumulative total of ¥461.1 billion JPY ($4.3 billion USD) in 2020, seeing just a 10% decline compared with 2019. In this article, we give an overview of 5 Japanese startups to watch in 2021. Which of them will see continued success, and which were mostly riding on a temporary wave of interest?
Interviews Our partner, Reynolds Porter Chamberlain (RPC), is a full service London-based international law firm. Nigel Collins heads up the Japan Desk as a Partner and specialises in advising Japanese companies on their outbound transactions, including investments, disposals, restructuring, joint ventures, as well as mergers and acquisitions with Japan.
We interviewed Nigel back in June to ask how the M&A business was going, given the impact of Coronavirus. Recently, we conducted a follow-up session to find out whether there have been any further developments or opportunities with the Japanese market.
Read more “Expert Guidance on Mergers and Acquisitions with Japan – Follow-up Interview with Nigel Collins at RPC”
Business On 11th September, the UK-Japan trade deal was announced to come into effect at the beginning of 2021. It was called a ‘historic moment’ by the British government as it was the first major trade deal for the UK as an independent nation after the announcement of the UK leaving the EU. But what does the trade agreement between the two nations consist of and how will it build a bridge between them?
Read more “Mutually Beneficial: the UK-Japan Trade Deal”
Marketing Here, we take a look at some local initiatives relating to the sustainability in Japan through the reduction of plastic waste in particular and how various brands are committing to becoming more plastic-free in Japan.
Business In Japan remote work is referred to using a number of different common terms, including 在宅勤務 zaitaku kinmu (telecommuting), the most direct translation リモートワーク rimooto waaku, or テレワーク terewaaku (telework). Those who are based remotely from the outset as a consistent way of working are taking part in what’s known as furu rimooto waaku (full-time remote work).
Interviews Japan M&A transactions have been on the rise. Since 2014, the number of outbound M&A (Merger & Acquisition) transactions from Japan increased by 58% to reach a total of 720 deals in 2019 with Asahi Group’s acquisition of Australian drinks giant Anheuser-Busch Inbev SA/NV topping the list at a value of $11.3 billion USD. 40% of the top ten outbound deals were made with European companies.
As for inbound transactions, only one of the highest ranking deals was made by a European company (Sandoz International GmbH’s acquisition of Aspen Japan KK at a value of $441 million USD), with the key companies being Japan’s Softbank and South Korea’s NAVER Corporation who increased their existing 73% stake in LINE Corporation to a complete acquisition at a value of $3.4 billion USD in December 2019.
This week, we were fortunate to have the chance to speak with Akio Fujii, a longstanding specialist in working on Japan M&A, both between Japanese companies as well as between Japanese and global companies. He kindly agreed to give us the low-down on his key professional endeavours, experiences in the M&A world, and some advice for foreign businesses looking to do deals in Japan.
Check out his latest article over on LinkedIn entitled ‘What it Takes to Change Japan’.
Business As the global digital economy is expanding, cashless payments in Japan are making their way into everyday life all around the world. Advantages include the ability to simplify payment sending and receiving process, a shrinking grey economy, a boom in e-commerce, and a sharp reduction in fraud. A study by BCG has concluded that more cash-intensive economies tend to grow slowly and therefore miss out on significant financial benefits.