Sazanka Partners

Sazanka Partners is a joint venture between Long Black Partners — which brings SME advisory and fund-management experience — and Shoko Chukin Capital, the wholly owned investment subsidiary of Shoko Chukin Bank. The structure gives Shoko Chukin’s government-linked regional banking network a direct path into private turnaround investing, while Long Black Partners supplies deal-execution and operational turnaround capabilities.

Sazanka draws pipeline from two overlapping networks: Shoko Chukin Bank’s deep relationships with small and midsize enterprises across every Japanese prefecture, and formal coordination with prefectural SME revitalization councils. This creates a proprietary funnel — troubled companies flagged by regional lenders and public-sector bodies — that is difficult for independent GPs to replicate.

It is the firm’s flagship vehicle, which held its final close in June 2025 (per the firm, June 2025). The partnership pursues buyout, succession, and turnaround investments in Japanese SMEs affected by post-Covid economic stagnation and rising costs. Sazanka has not disclosed the fund’s total size or LP base.

Sazanka is a third-party asset manager — specifically a joint-venture GP formed by two corporate shareholders. It runs a commingled fund and deploys capital on behalf of external limited partners, not a single family’s balance sheet.

The firm states it prioritizes understanding and respecting each portfolio company’s unique management style, culture, and values. Its teams deploy to portfolio sites to identify operational problems and execute improvement plans directly — a manual, on-the-ground approach rather than remote oversight or pure financial restructuring.