Chinese entrepreneur Luo Yiwen, through her company, completed a two-step acquisition to gain a controlling stake in Japan’s Kōjitō and its core subsidiary, Tokyo Boshan: In 2021, she first acquired a 25% stake to become the largest shareholder, and in 2022, she increased her stake to 40% to achieve full control. Kōjitō was originally a family business owned by former Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso but was taken over by Chinese investors due to financial difficulties.

Tokyo Boshan operates 6 of Tokyo’s 9 crematoriums, holding a 70% share of Tokyo’s private cremation market; it even handled the funeral of former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. Following the acquisition, Chinese capital integrated the supply chains of China and Japan: Cao County in Shandong supplies 90% of Japan’s coffins, while Huian in Fujian supplies 80% of its gravestones. Leveraging the cost advantages of the Chinese supply chain—which is only one-fifth to one-half the cost of Japan’s domestic supply chain—they have restructured the service ecosystem of Japan’s funeral industry, introduced one-stop funeral services, and achieved both improved service quality and profit growth, making this a prime example of Chinese capital entering Japan’s aging population support services market.