Private credit dealmakers face years of heavy lifting in Japan

In Tokyo’s bustling Marunouchi financial district, a new hire at a global firm has been busy wining and dining dealmakers — squeezing in more than 50 meetings over the past few months — to build a pipeline of future private credit deals.

But despite the unusually busy schedule, it will likely take nearly two years before deal volumes even begin to resemble other parts of Asia, the person said, asking not to be identified speaking about private matters.

That slow ramp-up underscores a broader challenge: global firms are racing to carve out space in Japan’s lending market, betting that demand for private credit will surge. Yet cracking the world’s third-largest economy remains a long game, with entrenched bank lenders offering stiff competition.