Akira Kiyota and Taiji Nagasaka have been named co-head of investment banking for Japan at Citi, effective 1 October 2025.
The appointments follow an uptick in deal flow in the country, Citi stated, adding that it is seeking to capture more inbound and outbound opportunities.
Japan has seen strong IPO performance over the last year, with US$9 billion issued in JPY between May 2024 and April 2025 putting it in fourth place globally.
Based in Tokyo, the pair will report to Jan Metzger, head of investment banking for Japan, Asia North, Australia and Asia South, and Robert Nakamura, country officer and head of banking for Japan.
They replace Masuo Fukuda, who will continue his role as vice chair of Japan and become vice chair for Japan and Asia North investment banking.
With more than 25 years of experience, Nagasaka has been a managing director, head of investment banking product and head of equity capital markets in Japan since joining Citi in 2022. Prior to this, he was head of equity capital markets at Mizuho and director of equity capital markets at SMBC Nikko Securities.
Kiyota has 30 years of industry experience, more than 20 years of which has been spent at Nomura. Most recently, he was a senior managing director and global head of mergers and acquisitions at the company. Earlier in his career, Kiyota held roles at JP Morgan Securities and Sanwa Bank.
