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Hi, I'm Lisa

I’m an award-winning journalist currently with Bloomberg News in Tokyo, where I report on and write about China remotely as I await a media visa.

Previously, I spent 5 years covering corporate Japan, focused on (but not limited to!) the consumer and healthcare industry, with a dash of general assignment news.

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Being a business journalist means versatility -- I am able to quickly jump on breaking business about any industry, or write and report out in-depth features connected to a particular news event. In my journalism adventures, I’ve interviewed CEOs and working grandmothers, broken news on corporate strategy changes, covered the Covid-19 from when it was an unknown virus, and filed stories from two pandemic-era Olympics.

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Please don't hesitate to connect to chat about any topic!

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This page has a selection of my writing, and my most recent articles can be accessed here.

Keeping Quiet About Politics Helped Uniqlo Become China’s Favorite Brand

APRIL 2022
Analysis piece on how Japanese retailer Uniqlo became one of the most popular clothing brands in China through a mix of luck, timing, and shrewd political positioning.
WEB LINK | PDF

Image by Simona Sergi

Rich Chinese Worth $48 Billion Want to Leave — But Will Xi Let Them?

JUNE 2022
Feature story laying out an implication of the punishing Covid lockdown of Shanghai: China’s wealthy want to leave, but are realizing there's more obstacles than ever with moving money and getting travel documents.
WEB LINK | PDF

Image by Simona Sergi

Daring Deal by French CEO Sets
Japan’s Takeda on Global Path

DECEMBER 2018
A profile of Takeda Pharmaceutical’s first foreign CEO Christoph Weber and his ambitions at the closing of the controversial deal to buy out Shire just as another foreign executive, Carlos Ghosn, was in the news.
WEB LINK | PDF

Image by Simona Sergi

THE CULT JAPANESE RETAILER MAKING BILLIONS BREAKING ALL THE RULES

APRIL 2019
A Bloomberg Businessweek magazine feature. “For years, Don Quijote—an unclassifiable seller of everything from humidifiers to sex toys—has been a cult phenomenon in Japan, favored by the cash-strapped households of the so-called recession generation. Now it’s big business.”
WEB LINK | PDF

Image by Simona Sergi

Vending Machines Aren’t Tailor-Made for the Pandemic

OCTOBER 2020

Vending machines seem tailor-made to survive a pandemic, but the Covid-19 crisis appears to be accelerating their demise. That's been especially apparent in Japan, where beverage retailers pushed vending machines to new heights of ubiquity and creativity. The reason? Less foot traffic.

WEB LINK | PDF

Image by Simona Sergi

Gambling Prize Worth $20 Billion Is Losing Its Luster in Japan

DECEMBER 2019
Casino executives spoke with me exclusively on how they were starting to question whether a potential $20 billion gaming market in Japan is worth all the trouble.
WEB LINK | PDF

Image by Simona Sergi

The Mastermind Behind Ghosn’s Dramatic Bail Release and Disguise

MARCH 2019
Quick day-after analysis of how Nissan’s Carlos Ghosn managed to secure bail after his high-profile arrest – all thanks to a maverick lawyer.
WEB LINK | PDF

Image by Simona Sergi

China’s Gamble on a New Olympic Strategy Pays Off in Gold Medals

FEBRUARY 2022
A look at how China built its Winter Olympics team in an unusual fashion compared to the past. The story was formulated, reported and written on deadline during the Beijing Olympics. 
WEB LINK | PDF

Image by Simona Sergi
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