Japan has moved to block a South Korean private equity group’s proposed ¥274bn ($1.7bn) takeover of a machine tools maker on national security grounds.
The government’s request for MBK Partners to drop its attempt to buy Makino Milling comes as Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi seeks to boost Japan’s ability to defend its interests in defence, supply chains and critical minerals.
Makino said in a filing on Thursday the government had determined it held data that constituted “sensitive information” related to national security because its machine