Three key trends in Japanese PE
Japan’s private markets brace for greater levels of interest.
Appetite grows for Japan’s maturing PE market
International GPs and LPs increasingly view Japan as one of the hottest growth markets for private equity as it gets lifted by macro tailwinds.
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In 2023’s report, we explored how the denominator effect and the depreciation of the yen relative to the US dollar impacted Japanese LPs’ commitments, the confluence of factors helping to drive dealmaking activity in the country, and what demographic trends mean for the private equity industry.
Key trends in Japanese private equity
Despite challenges, signs point to a market that has begun realising its potential.
NSSK: Business succession goes big
An ageing population is driving Japan’s business succession market and the targets are only getting larger, say NSSK’s Jun Tsusaka, Ryoji Kanamori and Makoto Iwami.
After many false dawns, PE dealmaking is on the rise in Japan
PEI asks what has unblocked the deal pipeline and explores how firms are getting transactions across the line.
J-STAR: Driving value through consolidation
Japanese PE firms can contribute to the local economy by investing in industry consolidation, say J-STAR’s Hideaki Sakurai, Kazumasa Ohara and Takashi Fukui.
Denominator woes prompt Japanese LPs to get selective
Japanese institutions have found themselves cutting down ticket sizes and declining fund opportunities as currency fluctuations compound private equity’s denominator effect.
JST’s Tomita: GP ‘winners and losers’ will become clear
The private equity head at Japan’s ¥10trn university endowment tells PEI how the fund views private markets in the current environment, and why it’s bullish on secondaries.
The Longreach Group: Untapped opportunities
Today’s dealfow dynamics offer a rich source of value-creation potential for investors in Japanese private equity, says Mark Chiba at The Longreach Group.
Navigating Japan’s demographic dilemma
PE firms are investing in businesses plugging the gaps caused by a declining and ageing population, such as those providing staffing, health and elderly care services.
Neuberger Berman: SMAs are here to stay among Japanese LPs
The value proposition for separately managed accounts is as high as it’s ever been in today’s investment environment, say Jonathan Shofet and Yoshi Yagisawa at Neuberger Berman Private Markets.
Mixed picture for Japanese fundraising
Japan-based capital raising picked up last year as country-focused volumes contracted – but the number of vehicles closed for both held steady.
The Japanese private equity market has been heating up, with deal activity surging and more players looking to build out their footprint in the region. In this special report, we examine how growth is intensifying competition for talent and look at rising momentum in the impact investing and GP-led secondaries markets.
Japan PE growth sees impact and secondaries momentum
As Japan’s private equity market grows, impact and secondaries strategies gain momentum, and competition for talent intensifies.
NSSK: Japanese PE is entering a ‘golden age’
Favourable conditions are spurring the country’s private equity industry into the next stage of development, say NSSK’s Jun Tsusaka and Shohei Akiyama.
The Longreach Group: A bridge between two spheres
Against an increasingly bifurcated geopolitical backdrop, Japan is uniquely positioned to give investors a stable and safe access platform to Asia’s secular growth story, says Mark Chiba, group chairman and partner at The Longreach Group.
The private equity talent contest
Private equity is becoming a more attractive prospect for young professionals in Japan, but firms need to stand out to attract talent.
J-STAR: Waste not, want not
The fragmented Japanese waste management industry represents a compelling private equity opportunity, say J-STAR principal Masayoshi Nakajima, manager Hisato Iwamoto and managing partner Hideaki Sakurai.
Impact investing: Testing the waters
Now that the importance of ESG is well-understood in Japan, the market is beginning to wake up to impact.
Neuberger Berman: Japan’s institutional investors branch out
Japanese LPs are looking beyond commingled funds to more customised solutions, including fund of ones and SMAs, say Neuberger Berman’s Ryo Ohira, Jonathan Shofet and Yoshi Yagisawa.
Japan’s fund managers slowly warm to GP-led secondaries
GP-led activity is picking up thanks to a decline in exit activity during the pandemic and rising familiarity with the practice.
CVC Japan: Change brings opportunity
Structural changes in Japanese society are driving private equity dealflow among founder-owned businesses and corporate carve-outs, say Atsushi Akaike and Daisuke Takatsuki at CVC Japan.
Q&A: Ropes & Gray’s Tsuyoshi Imai
The growing prevalence of PE in Japan has brought a deluge of deals, but that’s not without its downsides, says Ropes & Gray private equity partner and Tokyo office managing partner Tsuyoshi Imai.
April marks the month when spring bursts into colour in Japan with the spectacular cherry blossoms in parks and riverbanks across the country. In our 2021 Japan Special, we look at why there will still be a spring in the step of the private equity industry after a successful year for both deals and fundraising.
Seven signs Japan is realising its potential
The country's private equity market has been touted for its growth potential for much of the past decade. Has that finally come to pass?
NSSK: Driving ESG from the top
ESG has come a long way and it’s starting to show in financial performance, say NSSK’s CEO Jun Tsusaka, chief administrative officer Shohei Akiyama and ESG leader Kiyomi Matsuda.
It pays to know the local market – J-STAR
Some of the most attractive opporuntinities in Japan are in areas where private equity firms wouldn’t normally look, say J-STAR’s Kenichi Harada, Yutaka Tozaki and Takanori Unami.
Stars align for Japanese private equity
Local and international firms report brisk activity over the past 12 months. Everything seems to be coming together for the Japanese buyout market.
Japan’s blossoming venture landscape
The country’s venture capital market is maturing as investment volumes rise and sentiment around innovation continues to evolve.
Japan’s ‘contrarian’ Sunrise on flying solo
The Japanese private equity unit of Hong Kong’s CLSA Capital Partners is honing its own distinctive approach for the post-pandemic environment, as managing director Ryoichiro Minagawa and directors Shota Kuwaki and Yasunori Maeda explain.
Ant Capital: Ramping up while the world slows down
Many parts of the world stood still during the pandemic but Japanese buyout firm Ant Capital has had its busiest year to date, say managing partners Ryosuke Iinuma and John Cheuck.
Japan forges its own ESG approach
The country’s limited partners will continue to favour corporate engagement over exclusionary screening of controversial sectors.
Japan’s new code puts LPs’ focus on ESG
The revisions to Japan’s Stewardship Code a year ago are changing the way LPs view ESG, writes Baker McKenzie's Tetsuo Tsujimoto.
While no one can predict the future, the Japanese private equity industry remains optimistic it can ride out the coronavirus crisis. In our Japan Special 2020, we talk to the heads of the leading Tokyo-based GPs to hear why there are grounds for confidence despite the fears of a downturn.
Five trends in Japanese private equity
While no one can predict the future, the Japanese private equity industry remains optimistic it can ride out the coronavirus crisis.
Japan’s changing tastes in private equity
The number of divestitures by public companies has changed little in the past decade, but PE participation is rising.
J-STAR: Venturing into tech
J-STAR partner Tatsuya Yumoto and principal Naohito Yamashita explain how it applies buyout expertise to deals more akin to venture capital opportunities
ESG in Japan: A call for action
As awareness of good ESG spreads through the Japanese private equity industry, GPs need to focus on implementation.
Japan’s regional banks want more bang for their PE buck
The country’s mid-tier lenders are piling into the asset class in a bid to generate additional business opportunities in their respective locales.
NSSK on how to succeed with succession
Family-owned businesses account for more than half of all PE deals in Japan. Instilling a professional management culture requires a careful leadership transition, says Jun Tsusaka, founding partner of NSSK.
T Capital Partners: Why we decided to go it alone
Koji Sasaki, president and managing partner of T Capital Partners, maps the road ahead for the firm now that it has separated from Tokio Marine Insurance Group
Japan private equity: Apollo, Carlyle, KKR share their thoughts
Senior executives at three of the world’s largest private equity players offer their insights on how the Japanese opportunity is developing.
Nissay on how it approaches private equity
As more Japanese insurers turn to private equity in the search for yield, Hikojiro Iida, co-head of PE at Nissay Asset Management, discusses its favoured strategies.
Advantage Partners: ‘There is more appetite to deploy capital here’
Taisuke Sasanuma and Richard Folsom, Advantage Partners’ representative partners, talk us through three decades of investing in Japan
The Japanese market has long held tantalising opportunity for private equity, but it’s only in the past few years that deals have started to come through. In our Japan Special 2019, PEI looks at how a more active investor base and a thriving mid-market have helped Japan become a top priority for pan-Asian and global funds.
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