Leveraged Finance & Private Credit Conference
Japan’s Credit Markets in Transition
Agenda
Registration & Networking lunch
The Next Phase of Leveraged Finance in Japan
Panel Discussion:
- Growth prospects for Japan's LBO market and sponsor-backed financing
- Key drivers of increased PE sponsor interest in Japan
- Financing flexibility in Japan: banks, private credit, and hybrid structures
- Investor demand and the evolution of Japan's leveraged loan and CLO markets
Hidden Leverage and Credit Risk: Structured Asset Sales and Strategic Partnerships
Presentation:
- How innovative structures are expanding the corporate financing toolkit
- Where hidden leverage and contingent credit risks can emerge
- Assessing the impact on credit quality, financial flexibility, and downside risk
- Case study: tracing credit risk through the transaction structure
Networking break
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Mariko Semetko is an Executive Director for the Corporate Finance Group (CFG) for Moody’s Ratings. Based in Tokyo, she leads a team of analysts covering Japanese nonfinancial corporates and public infrastructure finance, and oversees the public sectors.
Prior to becoming a manager, Mariko was a lead analyst for a variety of corporates and utilities in Japan and the US. She has extensive experience both in the investment-grade and high-yield spaces. Mariko transferred to the Tokyo office in 2013 after working in the New York office since joining the company in 2006.
Lyuba Petrova is Moody’s Global Head of Leveraged Finance, bringing together the firm’s leveraged finance expertise across regions and disciplines. Lyuba’s team focuses on credit performance of speculative grade issuers, trends in documentation, dynamics in the leveraged finance market and private credit.
Prior to Moody’s, Lyuba spent a decade at Fitch Ratings, leading the firm’s North America Leveraged Finance team, and 9 years at JPMorgan, in roles in leveraged finance origination, capital markets and credit risk management in New York and London.
Akira Shimoyama joined Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC) in 2005. He is Head of Sponsor Finance Group, Strategic Corporate Banking Department since April 2022. He is responsible for Leveraged Finance and Subscription Finance for PE sponsors based in Japan. He has led the expansion of Subscription Finance business in Japan within SMBC.
He spent 20 years at Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation in various roles, including Leveraged Finance in Tokyo & London, Project Finance and Corporate Banking.
Bachelor of Economics, University of Tokyo
Motoki Yanase is a Senior Vice President in Moody’s Corporate Finance Group, covering a portfolio of US automotive manufacturing, car rental services and heavy manufacturing companies. Immediately prior to his current role, Motoki was covering a portfolio of US packaging and building products companies.
Prior to joining Corporate Finance Group in New York in 2021, Motoki covered Japanese companies in the automotive, telecommunications, technologies and beverage industries in Moody’s Japan for six years. Motoki also held credit positions at Goldman Sachs and Aozora Bank, and, prior to these positions, he was an analyst at Moody’s Japan, covering industries including paper, specialty steel and non-ferrous metals.
He holds a BA from Keio University in Japan and an M.B.A. from The University of Chicago.
Lyuba Petrova is Moody’s Global Head of Leveraged Finance, bringing together the firm’s leveraged finance expertise across regions and disciplines. Lyuba’s team focuses on credit performance of speculative grade issuers, trends in documentation, dynamics in the leveraged finance market and private credit.
Prior to Moody’s, Lyuba spent a decade at Fitch Ratings, leading the firm’s North America Leveraged Finance team, and 9 years at JPMorgan, in roles in leveraged finance origination, capital markets and credit risk management in New York and London.
Roman Schorr is a Vice President in Moody’s Corporate Finance Group. Based in Tokyo, Roman is responsible for a diverse portfolio of major Japanese corporates in the diversified manufacturing, technology, shipping, oil and gas and steel sectors.
Prior to joining Moody’s, Roman was a Director at Fitch Ratings in Tokyo, covering Japanese corporate credits, following his transfer from Fitch’s Frankfurt office. Previously, he was in corporate credit with Mizuho Bank in Dusseldorf.
Roman holds Masters degrees in Japanese Studies and Business Studies from the University of Duisburg-Essen, and in English Philology, Linguistics and Literature from Freie Universitaet Berlin. A native German speaker, Roman is fluent in English and Japanese.
Roman Schorr is a Vice President in Moody’s Corporate Finance Group. Based in Tokyo, Roman is responsible for a diverse portfolio of major Japanese corporates in the diversified manufacturing, technology, shipping, oil and gas and steel sectors.
Prior to joining Moody’s, Roman was a Director at Fitch Ratings in Tokyo, covering Japanese corporate credits, following his transfer from Fitch’s Frankfurt office. Previously, he was in corporate credit with Mizuho Bank in Dusseldorf.
Roman holds Masters degrees in Japanese Studies and Business Studies from the University of Duisburg-Essen, and in English Philology, Linguistics and Literature from Freie Universitaet Berlin. A native German speaker, Roman is fluent in English and Japanese.
Annalisa Di Chiara is a Senior Vice President in Moody’s Corporate Finance Group. Based in Hong Kong, Annalisa covers a portfolio of telecommunications, media and beverage companies throughout South and South East Asia. Annalisa is also a lead coordinator for Moody’s high-yield research and outreach initiatives for the Asia Pacific region.
Prior to joining Moody’s, Annalisa worked for UBS in credit related roles across debt capital markets and leveraged finance. She spent a significant portion of her career as a senior ratings advisor covering corporates across a variety of industries throughout the US, Asia and Europe. Annalisa has also worked for Credit Suisse and the Bank of New York as a Ratings Advisor and a Corporate Finance Banker. She has worked in Hong Kong for over 13 years.
Annalisa holds a double major from Brown University in Business Economics and English & American Literature.
Marc Pinto is the Global Head of Private Credit. In this role, he coordinates across the financial institutions, corporate, structured, and public and infrastructure finance rating groups to provide thought leadership, and ratings oversight in growth areas of the private credit market, including fund finance, private asset-backed securities, and privately placed investment-grade corporate assets. For over a decade, Marc has held a series of leadership roles of increasing scope and responsibility at Moody’s, including Global Co-Head of Insurance and Global Head of Funds & Asset Management.
Marc is deeply committed to educational and empowerment initiatives, acting as an Executive Sponsor for Moody's CFA and Global Administrative Professionals Networks, a Mentor Advisor in the Women’s Business Resource Group, and a frequent participant in career development seminars.
Marc’s extensive career in the fixed income credit markets, in New York and London, has included leadership roles at sell-side and buy-side firms including Merrill Lynch, Keefe Bruyette & Woods, and Susquehanna International. At Merrill Lynch, Marc was also a top-ranked financial institutions analyst.
Marc is a Chartered Financial Analyst and an alumnus of Columbia Business School and Trinity College (Connecticut).
Ken Murata joined KKR in 2025 and is a Managing Director on the Asia Credit team. He serves as Head of Japan Credit, leading the firm’s Japan-related credit investments. Prior to his current position, he served as managing director and head of structured solutions for Goldman Sachs’s capital solutions group within the investment banking division in Japan for 11 years, where he was responsible for the corporate derivatives and structured financing solutions business. Before he joined Goldman Sachs in 2014, he worked in the strategic equity solutions team in UBS, based in Tokyo and London. He holds a B.A. in Policy Management from Keio University.
Annalisa Di Chiara is a Senior Vice President in Moody’s Corporate Finance Group. Based in Hong Kong, Annalisa covers a portfolio of telecommunications, media and beverage companies throughout South and South East Asia. Annalisa is also a lead coordinator for Moody’s high-yield research and outreach initiatives for the Asia Pacific region.
Prior to joining Moody’s, Annalisa worked for UBS in credit related roles across debt capital markets and leveraged finance. She spent a significant portion of her career as a senior ratings advisor covering corporates across a variety of industries throughout the US, Asia and Europe. Annalisa has also worked for Credit Suisse and the Bank of New York as a Ratings Advisor and a Corporate Finance Banker. She has worked in Hong Kong for over 13 years.
Annalisa holds a double major from Brown University in Business Economics and English & American Literature.
Marc Pinto is the Global Head of Private Credit. In this role, he coordinates across the financial institutions, corporate, structured, and public and infrastructure finance rating groups to provide thought leadership, and ratings oversight in growth areas of the private credit market, including fund finance, private asset-backed securities, and privately placed investment-grade corporate assets. For over a decade, Marc has held a series of leadership roles of increasing scope and responsibility at Moody’s, including Global Co-Head of Insurance and Global Head of Funds & Asset Management.
Marc is deeply committed to educational and empowerment initiatives, acting as an Executive Sponsor for Moody's CFA and Global Administrative Professionals Networks, a Mentor Advisor in the Women’s Business Resource Group, and a frequent participant in career development seminars.
Marc’s extensive career in the fixed income credit markets, in New York and London, has included leadership roles at sell-side and buy-side firms including Merrill Lynch, Keefe Bruyette & Woods, and Susquehanna International. At Merrill Lynch, Marc was also a top-ranked financial institutions analyst.
Marc is a Chartered Financial Analyst and an alumnus of Columbia Business School and Trinity College (Connecticut).
Tomoya Suzuki is a Senior Vice President with the Financial Institutions Group (FIG), based in Tokyo.
He is responsible for Moody’s analytical team covering ratings and research on banks, securities firms, finance companies, and insurers in Japan, and also serves as a lead analyst for a select group of large and complex Japanese issuers.
Beyond his FIG responsibilities, Tomoya provides senior analytical leadership in Japan, acting as a central coordinator across rating groups and helping deepen Moody's engagement with issuers, investors, intermediaries, regulators, and other key stakeholders.
He is a strong advocate for inclusion, talent development, cross-functional collaboration, digital innovation, and employee engagement. From 2021 to 2024, he served as Co-Chair of Moody’s APAC Enable Business Resource Group, which advances disability inclusion and neurodiversity awareness across the organization, and he has contributed to various global initiatives, including the Digital Economy.
Before joining Moody’s Ratings, Tomoya worked in credit risk management at Credit Suisse in Tokyo, and in credit investment at a Japanese bank.
Tomoya holds a Bachelor of Arts in Finance and International Business from the University of South Carolina.
Naoki Shimizu is an Associate Managing Director – Head of Relationship Management, Commercial Group (Japan). In this role, he leads business development and manages issuer client as well as intermediary relationships in Japan. As Japan Country Manager, he manages the operating environment for the Moody’s Japan business and maintains senior relationships with key internal and external stakeholders.
Naoki joined Moody’s in 2012 initially with the Moody’s Analytics sales team in Tokyo before moving to assume his current position in 2018 at Moody’s Investors Service - Commercial Group. He has been a member of the APAC Diversity Council since 2022 and is passionate about building an inclusive workplace.
Prior to joining Moody’s, Naoki worked at Citi for 12 years, primarily as a structured finance arranger both in New York and Tokyo. He started his career at a Japanese government aid financial institution to support the economic and social development of emerging market countries.
Naoki holds a bachelor’s degree in agricultural engineering from University of Tokyo and a master-of-arts degree in international economics from Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) at Johns Hopkins University.