Recent trends in M&A of Japanese firms and corporate governance

It is said that we are the middle of a second boom of mergers and acquisitions in Japan. After the collapse of the bubble economy, many failed companies have been rescued by viable companies through mergers. At the same time, the number of owner-managers looking for successors by way of being acquired increased. Almost all of them are owners of small and medium companies. In addition, for diversification, Japanese companies have come to rely upon mergers and acquistions (M&A) more frequently than before. This second M&A boom in Japan implies that Japanese business people have learned how to use M&A techniques for corporate restructuring as well as corporate growth, through the experiences of cross-border M&A activities in the 1980s