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To learn more about continuous compliance, visit vertexink.com. Over the weekend, my colleague Leo Lewis, stopped by a 7-Eleven in Central Tokyo.

Inside he grabbed a fruit cup, some strawberries, bananas,

from one of the store's freezers,

and he made himself a smoothie.

He also pulled some cash out of an ATM.

Leo's the FT's Tokyo Bureau Chief,

so he's in a 7-Eleven...

Across the week, I'd say it's at least a dozen times

that I go in for one reason or another.

Think about a convenience store in a lot of places around the world.

You pop into grab a soda or some candy for a road trip. And those hot dogs

rolling on the griddle look, well, they just look sad. But that's a far cry from what you're getting at a Japanese 7-Eleven.

7-Eleven convenience stores in Japan are an extraordinary kind of phenomenon really. It provides services that convenience stores

elsewhere in the world could really only dream of. But now a Canadian company wants to

acquire these quintessentially Japanese shops.

And that is a big deal, Leo says.

Not only because 7-11 has this reputation in Japan, but also because for a long time most domestic companies have basically had giant not for sale signs hanging on their front doors.

...