Japan grows for a third straight quarter, but its companies still won't spend

Seven & i Holdings confirmed on August 17 that SoftBank Corp., PayPay Corporation and Mitsui Sumitomo Card Co. have completed payment for the third-party allotment of treasury shares the retailer's board approved on July 31. The three companies paid ¥2,070 a share for 144.9mn shares, converting the alliance announced three weeks earlier into a completed ¥300.0bn capital injection.

Why it matters: A board resolution is an intention; a payment-completion notice is money that has actually changed hands, tying SoftBank, PayPay and Mitsui Sumitomo Card's payment and telecom networks more closely to Japan's largest convenience-store operator.

Kamgras 1 KK has raised its tender offer for Kakaku.com to ¥3,570 a share, the second increase since the ¥3,000 opener in May, and pushed the deadline to August 27, extending the offer period to 75 business days. Kakaku.com's own corrected opinion on the bid confirms the same terms. Digital Garage, which holds 20.64% of Kakaku.com, and KDDI, which holds 17.67%, are declining to tender. Digital Garage plans instead to reinvest part of its proceeds into a stake of about 20% in the buyout vehicle's parent once the company goes private and squeezes out remaining holders.

Why it matters: A second price increase in three months signals holdout pressure on the buyout consortium, while the two disclosed shareholders choosing a post-squeeze-out buyback over tendering shows a preference for staying economically exposed to Kakaku.com's future.

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group has filled in the terms on its 25th series of ten-year unsecured subordinated bonds, an amended shelf registration filed August 17 that replaces a July 24 filing which had simply marked the terms "undetermined." The filing indicates an initial coupon of 2.400% to 3.200%, with a later reset spread of 0.250% to 1.050% over the five-year JGB yield.

The catch: Holders would lose their entire principal, not just deferred interest, if regulators ever declared the trust bank group failing, a loss-absorption feature built into the instrument.

Why it matters: The pricing gives fixed-income investors a fresh benchmark for Japanese bank Tier 2 paper as trust banks compete to fill capital buffers.

Faster regulatory approvals let Mitsui Chemicals finish buying Ultradent Products a month ahead of plan on August 14, and the company is relocating global headquarters functions for its oral-care business from Japan to the new US holding company, with the earnings impact still under review.

Oki Electric will transfer its ATM and automated-equipment business into Hitachi Channel Solutions for newly issued shares plus a cash-funded top-up, reaching a 60% stake from October 1, 2026, while the profit impact for the year after next stays under review.

Advance Create's corrected first-quarter filing for the year ending September 2025 shows liabilities now exceed assets by ¥6.1bn, with net assets at negative ¥6.11bn against total assets of just ¥6.17bn, an equity ratio of -99.1%. The correction also discloses a breach of covenants tied to receivables-securitization contracts, and the company's auditor has flagged material doubt about its ability to keep operating.

What to watch: Advance Create has said it is considering calling an extraordinary shareholders' meeting, planned within three months of the May 2 record date, as part of addressing the capital shortfall.

The Swiss investor's holding in Tokyo Stock Exchange Prime-listed Iwaki jumped from 16.96% to 18.95% on August 7, and its own filing reserves the right to seek board changes, higher dividends and share buybacks.

MAFF has opened a three-week comment window, closing September 6, on a Cabinet Order that would raise the individual borrower cap on Agricultural Modernization Loans from ¥18mn to ¥200mn, lengthen the maximum repayment term to 20 years, and add a specified agricultural-sector financial institution to the list of owners that let a farm-support company qualify for the loans, ahead of an October 1 effective date tied to the underlying law.