When international private equity groups first entered Japan at the turn of the 20th century, newspapers criticised them as vulture funds and politicians steered clear of public contact. Today, it’s a different story. Dozens of buyout groups have set up in the country and the establishment is courting them. The FT’s Tokyo correspondent David Keohane and Tokyo bureau chief Leo Lewis explain why there’s been a shift, and how private equity’s presence may rejuvenate Japanese corporates.

The FT does not use generative AI to voice its podcasts.

Clips from Toho

Standfirst: The country is courting firms to help shake up moribund corporates and spur industry consolidation

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For further reading:

Is Japan private equity’s next frontier?

Buyout firms play the long game beyond Tokyo

Investors sense this time is different for Japan

KKR-owned auto parts supplier Marelli files for US bankruptcy protection

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Follow David Keohane (@DavidKeo) and Leo Lewis (@Urbandirt) on X. Michela Tindera is on X (@mtindera07) and Bluesky (@mtindera.ft.com), or follow her on LinkedIn for updates about the show and more.

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To sign up for free to the new FT Alphaville newsletter on substack, go to ftav.substack.com

Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com

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Investors are spending billions of dollars on novel ways to extend human life through inventive treatments, therapies, and even manipulating our genes. And increasingly, it seems as though anti-ageing efforts have moved from the super rich to a mass market consumer industry. In this series, we’re covering the past, present and future of the longevity movement. We’ll be looking at where the fixation on longevity is coming from, and trying to understand the practical and ethical issues at the heart of this cutting-edge field of research.

From Silicon Valley fantasies, to Singaporean health spas, to Colombian genetic clinics and beyond, the FT’s Hannah Kuchler and Michael Peel ask whether breakthroughs in science and technology can really help us live longer, and even stop us aging altogether.

Free to read:

US ‘wellness’ industry scents opportunity to go mainstream

The quest to make young blood into a drug

This season of Tech Tonic was produced by Josh Gabert-Doyon. The senior producer is Edwin Lane. Flo Phillips is the executive producer. Sound design by Breen Turner and Samantha Giovinco. Fact checking by Simon Greaves, Lucy Baldwin and Tara Cromie. Original music by Metaphor Music. Manuela Saragosa is the FT’s acting co-head of audio.

The FT does not use generative AI to voice its podcasts.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

OpenAI is entering a new era. It's restructured to add a for-profit arm to its business and has signed more than a trillion dollars’ worth of deals to secure chips and build out data centres. But those huge financial commitments also raise massive questions: How will a heavily loss-making company fund $1.4tn worth of deals with some of the biggest publicly listed companies in the world? And what systemic risks could that come with? The FT's US west coast financial editor Tabby Kinder and venture capital correspondent George Hammond answer the questions everyone's asking.

The FT does not use generative AI to voice its podcasts.

Clips from Bg2 Pod, CNBC, Yahoo Finance

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For further reading:

How OpenAI put itself at the centre of a $1tn network of deals

Who owns OpenAI? Blockbuster deals complicate investor payouts

OpenAI shunned advisers on $1.5tn of deals

How high are OpenAI’s compute costs? Possibly a lot higher than we thought

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Attend the FT Global Banking Summit, December 2-4 in London: Enter SAVE20 for a 20% discount, register here.

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Follow Tabby Kinder (@Tabby_Kinder) and George Hammond (@GeorgeNHammond) on X or on Bluesky (@tabbykinder.bsky.social), (@georgehammond.bsky.social). Behind the Money host Michela Tindera is on X (@mtindera07) and Bluesky (@mtindera.ft.com), or follow her on LinkedIn for updates about the show and more.

Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.