Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida urged foreign investment on Wednesday, pledging capital market reforms and promoting asset management at a Morgan Stanley conference in Tokyo. Japan aims to shed its image of being unwelcoming to foreign investors. Emerging from deflation, Japan is now seen as an attractive market, with the Nikkei index hitting record highs. Kishida highlighted the need to shift USD13tr in household assets from cash to productive investments. The government plans to establish special business zones in cities like Tokyo, Osaka, Fukuoka, and Sapporo to facilitate this shift. An announcement on the zones is expected in June. Morgan Stanley’s Asia CEO, Gokul Laroia, emphasised the need for industry consolidation to drive growth.