Japan is moving fast, and this edition moves with it. The theme running through everything we cover this quarter is dual-use technology, and the sweeping changes in Japan’s regulatory, investment and security landscape that surround it. This focus is not theoretical. Japan has just halted MBK Partners’ proposed acquisition of Makino Milling, citing national security concerns around the potential leakage of sensitive technology. It is only the second time Japan has blocked a transaction under its foreign investment regime, and it signals a clear shift in how authorities view precision manufacturing businesses that sit at the intersection of civilian and defence use. As governments draw harder lines around dual-use capabilities, cross-border M&A is being reshaped in real time.
This is now a subject dominating conversations across Tokyo’s business and legal community, with immediate practical implications for foreign companies and their advisers. Our interview sections bring in three expert voices. Anthony Luna of Southgate examines the opportunities and legal risks in Japan’s expanding dual-use market, including the Economic Security Promotion Act and its secret patent regime. Frank Clark of PACFORCE focuses on where the most concrete commercial opportunities lie right now, from critical minerals and space technologies to secure software, and what it takes to enter Japan’s defence ecosystem on the right terms. Tomotaka Tokuno of Atsumi & Sakai addresses Japan’s investment screening environment and what foreign companies should expect from the regulatory process in practice.
Our News in Brief section covers Japan’s February 2026 election result and what a Takaichi supermajority means for business, Japan’s ambition to increase domestic semiconductor sales fivefold by 2040, developments in private credit, and Honda’s move to bring a China-manufactured EV to the Japanese domestic market. Firm news includes AMT’s new Paris office, Apollo Global Management’s acquisition of Nippon Sheet Glass, and major transactions across the region.
