The financial industry is experiencing a sense of déjà vu reminiscent of the structured bond fiasco, as regional banks have come under scrutiny for the aggressive sale of structured bonds around 2020. The Financial Services Agency (FSA) of Japan issued business improvement orders to Chiba Bank, Chibagin Securities, and Musashino Bank in June last year, for practices that did not align with customer attributes or investment objectives. Despite the lucrative commissions from structured bonds, a shift in focus by the FSA towards the complex and high-risk nature of these products has led many banks to cease their sale. In the wake of structured bonds becoming a less viable option, financial...

On May 16, 2007, Kazuo Inamori, the visionary founder of Kyocera (1932-2022), delivered a lecture at the Tokyo Stock Exchange that would later be hailed as “The Legendary TSE Speech.” His profound insights into the essence of management and philosophy in business continue to be celebrated and passed down to this day. Inamori was invited to speak by then-Chairman of the Tokyo Stock Exchange, Taizo Nishimuro (1935-2017), who lamented the prevailing culture of materialism highlighted by incidents like the Livedoor scandal. Nishimuro, who had also served as the Chairman of Toshiba, requested Inamori to elucidate on “Why Philosophy is Necessary in Management.” Ironically, Nishimuro himself would later be implicated in...

In the world of automotive giants, Toyota’s performance is soaring to new heights. In 2023, it outpaced Volkswagen in global sales, securing the top spot for the fourth consecutive year. Supported by a weaker yen and increased production, Toyota announced a forecast for the fiscal year ending in March 2024 that is nothing short of spectacular. The company expects a net profit increase of 84% from the previous term, reaching 4.5 trillion yen, marking the first time a Japanese company has crossed the 4 trillion yen threshold. The announcement sent Toyota’s stock price skyrocketing on February 6, increasing its market capitalization by an astonishing 6.6 trillion yen in a single...