Global & Geopolitical Developments

October 25, 2026

Japan Weeks Preview: Activism Meets Rising Profits

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Torsten Slok

Partner, Chief Economist

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Japan Weeks (Oct. 26-30), now in its fourth year, brings global investors and asset managers together to explore the opportunities in Japan’s financial and capital markets. One of the most important themes behind that opportunity is shareholder activism, which is reshaping corporate Japan. Shareholder proposals have more than tripled since 2018, reflecting a stronger focus on governance and shareholder value, see first chart below. This is starting to translate into stronger corporate profits, with profits at Japan’s medium-sized businesses (those with capital of JPY 100 million to 1 billion) reaching historically high levels, a sign that improving profitability extends well beyond the country’s largest companies, see second and third charts.

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