Behind the Money: KKR, Bain and private equity’s push into Japan

FT News Briefing

Forhecz Topher

Daily News, News & Politics, News

4.4 • 1.2K Ratings

🗓️ 24 December 2025

⏱️ 22 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

When international private equity groups first entered Japan at the turn of the 21st century, newspapers criticised them as vulture funds and politicians steered clear of public contact. Today, it’s a different story. Dozens of buyout groups have set up in the country and the establishment is courting them. The FT’s Tokyo correspondent David Keohane and Tokyo bureau chief Leo Lewis explain why there’s been a shift, and how private equity’s presence may rejuvenate Japanese corporates.

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This is a repeat of an episode published on Behind The Money, a sister podcast of FT News Briefing, on November 26, 2025. Follow Behind the Money on Acast, Apple Podcasts, Pocket Casts or Spotify.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	What you're hearing
0:03.1	of kioshoek of
0:03.8	society
0:04.1	Kiyo Bayse
0:05.9	to get
0:06.1	the money
0:07.0	What you're hearing
0:09.7	is a trailer from an old
0:11.3	Japanese drama
0:12.3	It's called
0:13.9	Vulture
0:14.3	Or in Japanese
0:16.3	My colleague Leo Lewis The the F.T.'s Tokyo Bureau Chief, loves this.
0:26.0	Hear how locked in he becomes when we watched this trailer together the other day.
0:32.0	Ha ha ha ha ha.
0:36.9	That's y'alleled. Daegiate. Under them.
0:42.8	That is just magnificent, isn't it?
0:43.8	That's brilliant.
0:45.1	Okay.
0:46.9	Do you want me to comment on it?
0:47.6	Yeah, go ahead.
0:49.7	I mean, it was a big phenomenon at the time.
	...

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