Starting life as Tokyo Classifieds when it was launched by Mark and Mary Devlin back in 1994, Metropolis magazine has grown to become Japan's largest periodical both in terms of distribution volume and advertising revenue. Last week Metropolis was acquired by another publishing group. To find out who and why Read Terrie's Take Now

In the last week of August, a private equity firm that few had heard of, MBK Partners, won an auction to buy the accounting software firm Yayoi from Livedoor Holdings for an estimated JPY71bn (US$617m). Was this figure worth it? What does this say about M&A culture in Japan? Read Terrie's Take Now

This week focuses on the tobacco industry in Japan. As the local market becomes increasingly difficult how has Japan Tobacco managed to keep its profits up? What lies ahead for smoking policy in Japanese localities? Read Terrie's Take Now

Will the rise in M&A numbers continue? While the subprime mess in the USA appears to be drying up the type of leveraged financing needed for M&As overseas, it is our view that the trend to buy companies here, and especially buying on credit (LBOs) will not only continue but in fact increase. Read Terrie's Take Now