Last week the audio/car electronics manufacturer, Pioneer, announced that it was selling a large private placement to Baring Private Equity in Hong Kong. The placement will be for JPY60bn, and appears to give Baring control of the struggling firm.

Uber Japan pulled off a bit of a coup, by announcing completely unexpectedly that it was teaming up with Fuji Taxi of Nagoya and launching the Uber taxi app with Fuji.

Like many Japanese fast-rising internet companies before them, the Mercari senior management have a "bug up their butts" about taking on the e-commerce sector in the USA. Why this market is so important to them at this early stage, versus Asia, is not exactly clear.

Also foreigners do their bit to make lives of disadvantaged children better. Recently we interviewed Michael Clemons, the founder of the NPO named YouMeWe NPO and a social impact fund called eMPOWER.