The Japan Society

Upcoming Events

ARCHIVED Japan Macro Salon with Jesper and Bill

Monday 2 October 2023 / 12:00pm
Japan Macro Salon with Jesper and Bill

Date
Monday 2 October 2023
Time
12.00 - 1.00pm (BST)
8.00 - 9.00pm (JST)

Check the time in your location

Booking Details
Free – Donations Welcome
Registration essential

Book online here


Join us for the latest in our regular quarterly webinar on business and current affairs, Japan Macro Salon with Jesper and Bill. In these our Chair Bill Emmott teams up with Jesper Koll, longtime Tokyo resident and one of the most keenly watched economists and investment strategists in that town, to discuss what's new in the Japanese economy, business, financial markets and more.

Each quarter, Jesper and Bill open with a conversation about the latest trends that have caught their attention, and then welcome a special guest to focus on a topic of the moment. All the while, they will be interacting with questions from the audience. These webinars are run in association with Asia Society Japan. 

In this Salon, they will be joined by Founder & Chair of Monex, Oki Matsumoto. From 2008-2013, Oki was on the board of the Tokyo Stock Exchange, and he currently is a member of the TSE special committee that introduced more pressure on corporate executives to manage capital efficiency and price-to-book greater than 1. Discussion will focus on the TSE motivation, corporate reactions, and what added steps to improve governance and stewardship can be expected. 

Jesper Koll has been researching and investing in Japan since becoming a resident in 1986. Over the past two decades, Jesper has been consistently recognized as one of the top Japan strategists/economists, having worked as Chief Strategist and Head of Research for U.S. investment banks J.P. Morgan and Merrill Lynch. He currently serves as Expert Director for the Monex Group and the Japan Catalyst Fund (Japan’s 1st retail investor based corporate engagement/activist fund). His analysis and insights have earned him a position on several Japanese government and corporate advisory committees, including Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike’s Advisory Board. Jesper serves as Board Director of OIST, the Okinawa Institute for Science and Technology and is a Founder and Board Director of the Asia Society Japan and heads their Policy Committee. He is one of the few non-Japanese members of the Keizai Doyukai, the Japan Association of Corporate Executives; and serves on the board of several Japan-based start-ups. He has written three books in Japanese and, in 2021, created the acclaimed video/pod-cast series Japan - Capitalism that works. Jesper is an economist, angel-investor, patron; and yes, a Japan Optimist.

Oki Matsumoto is the Executive Chair of Monex Group, Inc., and the Chair of Japan Catalyst, Inc. where he serves as the CIO of the Japan Catalyst Fund. Oki started his career at Salomon Brothers in 1987. He joined The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. in 1990 and became a general partner in 1994. He was a co-head of fixed income and foreign exchange at the Tokyo office, responsible for trading, risk management and overall products. In 1997, he launched the Special Situations Group, which later grew into one of the most profitable units in The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. He retired in 1998.

In 1999, he established Monex, Inc. with Sony Corporation and established Monex Group, Inc. in 2004. He was an outside director of the Tokyo Stock Exchange (TSE) from 2008 for five years, and has participated in various government councils on corporate governance reform, actively involved in improving and reforming the Japanese capital market. Currently, he is a member of the “Council of Experts Concerning the Follow-up of Market Restructuring” at the TSE and an outside director of Mastercard Incorporated in the United States. Oki received his B.A. in Law from Tokyo University.

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Explore our series of webinars with leading experts in politics, economy and media. More details on upcoming events and past webinar videos HERE