Left: Fuji Broadcasting Center in Tokyo; right: Yoshiaki Murakami.
Photo illustration: Mark Harris for Bloomberg Markets; Photos: Fuji Broadcasting: Kiyoshi Ota/Bloomberg; Murakami: Kyodo/AP Photo
The Big Take
Japan’s Firebrand Investor Is Back, Along With the Country’s Stock Market
Yoshiaki Murakami takes on Fuji Media and the rest of corporate Japan.
A sexual-assault scandal engulfed one of Japan’s largest broadcasters in January. Longtime executives quit in disgrace. Advertisers fled. Earnings cratered. Yoshiaki Murakami spotted an opportunity.
His investment firms, along with members of his family, snapped up about $700 million in shares, amassing a 16% stake and becoming the biggest owner of the beleaguered company, Fuji Media Holdings Inc.