Japan

Two in five said that access to training and digital development will have the most impact on productivity.

Global modern logistics facilities and technology-led solutions provider GLP continues its capital recycling strategy with the sale of eight Japan properties to GLP J-REIT for JP¥84.9 billion (US$765 million).

Paidy Inc, an instantly-issued post-pay credit provider, has recently announced an investment from financial services corporation Visa as part of the company’s Series C funding. Paidy is cited to be Japan’s first instantly-issued post-pay credit service for e-commerce consumers. In addition, the two companies are partnering on new digital payment experiences that will give Japanese consumers more options when buying online and in-store.

 

 

Cloud service provider Akamai Technologies and Japanese financial services company MUFG announced plans to offer a new blockchain-based online payment network enabling next-generation payment transaction scale and responsiveness.

Rakuten has acquired a 100% stake in Fablic, provider of FRIL, a consumer-to-consumer (C2C) marketplace mobile app, and has made the company a wholly-owned subsidiary. The acquisition price is undisclosed.

Ancor Capital Partners and Merit Capital Partners have sold the Macedon, New York-based Bakewise Brands to Japan’s largest bread-baking corporation Yamazaki Baking Co, headquartered in Tokyo. Yamazaki also distributes its baked products in a number of Asian countries like Singapore and Malaysia.

Japan's Aeon Mall is embarking on an aggressive 2020 growth plan. The core of its strategy is to increase its revenue contributed by overseas business from 2-3% to 10% by 2020.

The 41st Foodex Japan 2016, to be held from March 8-11 this year in Makuhari, Messe, Tokyo, Japan, is expected to draw 80,000 trade visitors (77,361 trade visitors visited the show last year). Some 3,000 exhibitors, of which 60% are international exhibitors, will be present at the show.

Oishii Japan presented the largest showcase of authentic Japanese food and beverages in its 2014 edition, with the participation of 266 exhibitors from 32 Japanese prefectures. The organiser said the show’s growth is a testament to the robust demand for quality Japanese F&B products in the region.

Rakuten Group was built from a desire to empower Japanese merchants and consumers in a new marketplace in the early days of the Internet age. Today, the philosophy of empowerment remains at the core of Rakuten’s business and operations. Masatada Kobayashi, co-founder of Rakuten Inc. and CEO of Rakuten Asia, shares more with Sharon Tian.