Lisa Du

Finance reporter @business, covering Japan real estate/investing/PE/funds/everything else. 🤷🏻‍♀️ Views my own. Cat photos/news tips: [email protected]

[Lisa Du @lisadont]

My story last yr w/@AkemiTerukina, Eddy Duan on how the Bank of Japan’s exit from a long period of negative rates affected everyday people is part of the @business SOPA win for explanatory reporting. I still find it relevant today, so please give it a read (Story linked in tweet)

[The Society of Publishers in Asia @sopasia]

@CWM_en @FrontierMM @NikkeiAsia @SCMPNews @1843mag @BBCIndonesia @initiumnews @PCIJdotOrg 🏆 Explanatory Reporting - Award for Excellence - Global group goes to @business! Brilliant and engaging breakdown of Japan’s post-bubble economy and its shifting outlook. Clear, creative, and compelling. Congratulations! #SOPAwards2025

📰
https://t.co/HzO6ewHZsf

[Lisa Du @lisadont]

What’s shaping up to be one of Japan’s hottest real estate deals in recent memory includes a prime office tower in Tokyo’s financial district, several nursing homes — and a handful of killer whales. (Yep...) Read all about it: https://t.co/863622NOlJ

[Bloomberg @business]

A competition backed by BlackRock Inc. and Point72 Asset Management tested whether Japanese college students have what it takes to work in finance. https://t.co/sUhMPrOB6C

[Gearoid Reidy リーディー・ガロウド @GearoidReidy]

Since introducing a dual-pricing scheme -- 1,000 yen for city residents and 2,500 yen for everyone else -- Himeji Castle has seen a 17% drop in visitors, but a doubling of revenue.

[Bloomberg @business]

In the land of sushi and ramen, Wall Street is betting millions on American burgers and fried chicken. Carlyle and Goldman Sachs see chains like KFC and Burger King having a larger presence in Japan.

What's fueling these big bets? https://t.co/Dk0EC0Csfh

[John Bistline @JEBistline]

This is my favorite climate change chart. Japanese monks, aristocrats, and emperors kept meticulous records of cherry blossom festivals for 1,200 years and accidentally built the world's longest climate dataset.

[Lisa Du @lisadont]

In the land of 🍣🍜🍱 , private equity wants...🍔🍟🍗?!

My latest for Businessweek on why major private equity players are investing in fast food operators in Japan

https://t.co/stlmwP77Sb

[Lisa Du @lisadont]

Berkshire Hathaway will invest
$1.8 billion in Japanese insurer Tokio Marine, ramping up the influential US conglomerate’s exposure to the Japan market https://t.co/e54lJBVVOv

[Lisa Du @lisadont]

Our story on PE giants like Blackstone, KKR, EQT's attempt to tap Japan's wealthy retail investors for funds as institutional money wanes. Most see Japan as the largest private wealth opportunity outside of the US, but the market comes with its challenges: https://t.co/7ZpfR0iWyB

[Lisa Du @lisadont]

Our story on how hedge fund Elliott has ramped up the pace of its Japan activist campaigns (investments in the market are worth ~$5.5 bil now); some of that is coming to a head this week w/its challenge to the Toyota Industries buyout https://t.co/VPAjpXONQP

[Gearoid Reidy リーディー・ガロウド @GearoidReidy]

Apparently Boy's Love is big in the US now. That's some ｊａｐａｎｉｆｉｃａｔｉｏｎ for sure

[Lisa Du @lisadont]

A hiring spree among hedge funds in Japan is reaching fever pitch. The latest must-have: talent scouts. More funds are hiring so-called business development specialists based in Japan to find the next generation of star PMs. Latest with @BeiHu1: https://t.co/vlho4A0Vdz

[Lisa Du @lisadont]

Scoop to kick off the year with @ManuBaigorri -- Goldman Sachs is raising a Japan real estate fund, targeting around $500 million for property deals in the country, sources say.

More details in the gift link below: https://t.co/xcbrzeSojQ

[Bloomberg @business]

General Atlantic completed its first growth equity investment in Japan and plans to do more, citing an increase in entrepreneurship in a country long considered a backwater for startups https://t.co/YPp6GUA6bx

[Lisa Du @lisadont]

Activist investor Elliott has built a nearly 5% stake in Toyota Industries, & has told the company that the price for a proposed privatization deal worth ¥4.7 trillion led by Akio Toyoda is too low, sources say.
More details in my scoop w/ @Inajima17 https://t.co/GvXQUmGZLG

[Lisa Du @lisadont]

Latest with @ManuBaigorri @yasutaka_tamura. Very interesting to untangle this news around appraisal rights in Japan and its impact -- a bit complex but think these cases will get more attention as privatization deals increase here as well.

[Bloomberg @business]

A cloud is hanging over one of Japan’s biggest listings of the year as investors including Citadel and Norges Bank claim in court filings that the price offered to take Shinsei private in 2023 was too low https://t.co/kCv1fnQGhT

[Lisa Du @lisadont]

My latest story for Bloomberg Markets magazine on what's driving Japan's private equity boom and what lies ahead for the sector.

(If nothing else, it comes with a VERY cute illustration...!)
https://t.co/LxkPrcled3

[Bloomberg @business]

Buyout firms see plenty of opportunity among Japan’s 4,000 public companies, as corporate reforms nudge companies to take offers more seriously https://t.co/ZcIemAI5DT

[Lisa Du @lisadont]

Latest scoop from the activism front in Japan: Elliott is looking to up its stake in Sumitomo Realty, and has approached several Japanese companies that have cross-shareholdings with the real estate developer to ask to buy out their stakes, sources say
https://t.co/liiRkNxSE0

[Lisa Du @lisadont]

Murakami is controversial in Japan for his aggressive tactics, profitable investments & arrest for insider trading. But many of the corporate practices he pushed for years ago are now accepted, even promoted. That may signal something bigger about the direction Japan is headed

[Lisa Du @lisadont]

Our profile story on Yoshiaki Murakami, the so-called "grandfather" of activist investing in Japan, is one of Bloomberg's Big Take reads this week (gift link!): https://t.co/HUUCf1Pp08