Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (MUFG) is exploring separate collaborations with BlackRock and Morgan Stanley Investment Management (MSIM) to develop an open platform for institutional investment in Japanese private credit.

MUFG has entered into discussions with both firms on developing Japan’s private credit segment, as the country’s nascent market starts to attract global investors and managers look to expand their presence in the region.

The potential collaborations aim to connect domestic and global capital with Japanese companies, MUFG said. The discussions will cover the evaluation, sourcing and investment in private credit opportunities, it added.

MUFG brings a large Japanese corporate client network and local market access to the partnerships, while BlackRock contributes global private credit expertise through its HPS platform.

MSIM, also brings its experience in the space, having provided debt solutions to businesses globally for more than 15 years.

Japan’s private credit market remains at a relatively early stage of development compared with those in Europe and the US.

However, private credit firms, encouraged by a combination of macroeconomic factors and changing investor attitudes towards alternative credit, have recently been expanding their presence in Japan.

For example, Fiera Capital opened a Tokyo office in October 2025 and made a number of hires, including Chinatsu Aoyama as director, private markets specialist, earlier this year.

KKR also hired Ken Murata from Goldman Sachs as a managing director in Tokyo last year.