The new agency will be modelled on the Committee of Foreign Investment in the United States, which vets overseas investments for national security risks. The committee was central to former US president Joe Biden\u2019s attempt in 2024 to block Nippon Steel\u2019s acquisition<\/a> of US Steel.<\/p>\n Takaichi\u2019s push to establish what she called a \u201cJapanese version of Cfius\u201d is one of the prime minister\u2019s major policy priorities<\/a> after her landslide election win this month, alongside government-led stimulus and tax and budget reforms.<\/p>\n It comes amid heightened concern in Japan about rising activist investor interest and the need to protect sensitive sectors and technologies from potentially harmful foreign interference, particularly from China<\/a>.<\/p>\n It also fits closely with Takaichi<\/a>\u2019s brand of nationalist populism, according to political analysts, as she seeks to project herself to voters and coalition allies as a muscular defender of Japan\u2019s national interests.<\/p>\n Takaichi directly linked the move to her plans to establish a new national security agency, which will consolidate and strengthen intelligence and information gathering. A Japanese Cfius would \u201cstrengthen the security screening system for foreign investment\u201d, she said.<\/p>\n Legal and financial experts said that while that it remained unclear whether the new body would lead to a significant number of deals being blocked, a more streamlined process would be welcome to many foreign investors, who have called for more efficiency and transparency. <\/p>\n The current system, under the Foreign Exchange and Foreign Trade Act (FEFTA), is broadly overseen by the finance ministry. In practice, screening responsibilities are spread among the trade ministry, Financial Services Agency, Bank of Japan and the ministry overseeing the sector in which the target company operates.<\/p>\n The result is a process that is time-consuming, difficult to navigate and prone to inconsistencies and delays, according to lawyers, bankers and fund managers.<\/p>\n \u201cThere is a high noise to signal ratio in the current system,\u201d said Nels Hansen, a partner at law firm White & Case in Tokyo. \u201cThe government agencies that have to vet the investments are often overwhelmed.\u201d<\/p>\n That system has come under increasing strain in recent years as corporate Japan has seen a surge of interest from global corporations and activist hedge funds targeting companies they see as undervalued.<\/p>\n Some buyout bids have run into national security concerns. Taiwanese components maker Yageo\u2019s hostile $465mn takeover of Japanese rival Shibaura Electronics was ultimately cleared last year, despite initial questions over the buyer\u2019s links to China.<\/p>\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/https:\/\/d1e00ek4ebabms.cloudfront.net\/production\/e59bf452-bd68-4113-bac0-08210574b330.jpg\")
Seven & i Holdings, the operator of 7-Eleven convenience stores, managed to fend off what would have been Japan\u2019s largest-ever foreign takeover last year \u00a9 Shiho Fukada\/Bloomberg<\/p>\n
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