Shino Asayama

On March 17, 2026, Japan's Cabinet Office approved a bill (the "Amendment Bill") to amend the Foreign Exchange and Foreign Trade Act ("FEFTA") and submitted it to the Diet. The Amendment Bill follows an advisory opinion drafted by the Council on Customs, Tariff, Foreign Exchange and Other Transactions (the "Council") on the new structure for Japan's foreign direct investment review regime issued on January 7, 2026 (the "Advisory Opinion").

April 1, 2026 Reem Albakr, Shino Asayama, Lisa Bär, Orion Berg, Laura Black, Ryan Brady, Ana Calvo, Henri Capin-Gally CFA, Stephen Carlton, Yoon Choi, Elias Choueifati, Carlos Daroca, Clémence Flichy, Maciej Gac, Román González Melo, Leonardo Graffi, Jakub Gubanski, Emmanuel Gutton, Nick Hallemeesch, Marcus Halling, Nels Hansen, Marika Harjula, Savi Hebbur, Grace Hochstatter, James Hsiao, Wes Hutson, Mizuki Hyuga, Marc Israel, Vladimír Ivanco, Jonathon Jackson, Farhad Jalinous, Ivo Janda,...

Japan’s stock market hit an all-time high in mid-August. Valuations were boosted by US President Donald Trump’s decision to delay new trade tariffs on China, but also reflect the country’s more benign economic landscape and record-breaking M&A activity. At first glance, the International Monetary Fund’s forecasts for Japanese economic growth appear lackluster, with GDP projected to expand by 0.7 percent this year and by 0.5 percent in 2026.