26
Jun
Japan update: Right here, right now
Japan confounded prevailing industry trends in 2023: it was the only major Asian market to see year-on-year increases in fundraising and exits, while investment reached an all-time high. Policy support, helpful regulatory reforms, a weak yen, and key structural factors driving deal flow all count in Japan’s favour as an investment destination. This has attracted more capital as global GPs and LPs prioritise Asia’s developed markets. Our panellists consider how long the music will last.
- Will more challenging economic conditions rein in the market?
- What is the appeal of Japan for LPs relative to other jurisdictions?
- Are fund sizes at risk of becoming too large for the opportunity set?
- How are managers developing their value creation capabilities?
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SpeakersNobuyuki Inomata Head of Fund Investment Team, Alternative Investment Solution Department NOMURA ASSET MANAGEMENT CO., LTD.
Shinichiro Kita Representative Director/ Senior Partner ADVANTAGE PARTNERS
Keitaro “KT” Tsuda Partner THE LONGREACH GROUP
Yu Itoki Managing Director, Private and Growth Equity Investment GOLDMAN SACHS ASSET MANAGEMENTT.J. Kono Partner UNISON CAPITAL
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Nobuyuki joined Nomura in 2018 and has been responsible for strategic planning for alternative investment business and marketing. He is currently engaged in promotion of Japan private equity and venture capital investing, and planning and implementing ESG integration in Nomura's alternative investments.
He started his alternative investment career in 1992 when he joined Japan Asia Investment Co., Ltd. (JAIC) as a venture capitalist. His responsibilities at JAIC included fund planning and setup, investment management, client reporting, and management of its Singapore and Thailand local operations. Subsequently he joined Nikko Cordial Securities (now called SMBC Nikko Securities), where he took charge of intermediary business on alternative investment funds, before moving to Nomura.
Graduated from Waseda University (Japan), BA in Commerce.
Mr. Kita joined Advantage Partners in 2003 and leads all activities for the Japan Buyout team. Mr. Kita has also directly led many investments including CommunityOne, Katitas, Net Protections, Yaruki Switch Group and Cosmolife. He currently serves as a Director on several investments including Material Group, Energywith, NFC Holdings, Net Japan and Daiho Industrial.
Prior to joining Advantage Partners, Mr. Kita was at Bain & Company Japan and focused on projects in the auto, finance, telecommunications, food products, trading houses, and healthcare sectors. Mr. Kita holds an undergraduate degree from the Faculty of Economics, the University of Tokyo, and an MBA from University of California, Berkeley.
Keitaro “KT” Tsuda is a Partner based in Tokyo. He has been involved in investments including FCL Components (ex-Fujitsu Component), Japan Systems, Wellness Communications, Blueship, and nobitel (Dr.stretch).
Prior to joining Longreach, KT was a Director at Unison Capital, Inc., where he played key roles in the sourcing, value creation and exit of multiple portfolio companies. Prior to Unison Capital, KT was a Director at ITOCHU International Inc. based in New York, where he co-founded the Principal Investments Group, an in-house private equity unit with US$200 million of internal capital focusing on middle market leveraged buyouts in North America. He was also responsible for M&A and strategic investments for ITOCHU’s Financial Division and Machinery Division in North America. KT started his career at Cantor Fitzgerald, LLC in Tokyo where he was a foreign exchange options broker.
KT holds an MBA from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and BA in Social Sciences from Waseda University.
Yu is a managing director in Growth and Corporate Equity within Goldman Sachs Asset Management, overseeing private equity and growth equity investments in Japan. Before joining Growth and Corporate Equity in 2021, he was a member of the Asian Special Situations Group, and before that, worked within the Principal Investment Area in the Merchant Banking Division. Yu joined Goldman Sachs in 2011 as an analyst in the Merchant Banking Division and was named managing director in 2023.
Yu serves on the Board of Directors of Bitkey, GO Inc., NIPPO Corporation and Rapyuta Robotics.
Yu earned a BA in Economics from the University of Tokyo in 2011.
T.J. Kono joined Unison Capital in 2002. He has managed a number of investments in Japan since Unison’s first fund, then led Unison’s expansion to Korea as its founding member. Today, he serves as a member of both Japan and Korea Investment Committee. He has been involved in Unison’s investments in Drug Eleven (Japan), Mine-Mart (Japan), UCOM (Japan), Nexcon Technology (Korea), Gong cha (Korea)/Royal Tea Taiwan (Taiwan), and Forbes (Japan). In addition to investment role, he oversees Unison Group’s investor relations functions. Prior to Unison Capital, he worked at Merrill Lynch Japan.
Mr. Kono has a B.S/B.A. from Washington University in St. Louis.