If the Japanese government implements "Big Bang" financial reforms as quickly and efficiently as it has promised, it will not only liberalize domestic capital markets, it will also help Japanese firms feel freer to "go public and go international," according to Guang Xun Xu, a Nasdaq executive.

"With the deregulation, more and more financial products will be introduced into the country, and more and more companies will be using diversified methods instead of just sticking to one or two ways of raising capital," Xu, Nasdaq's director in charge of the Asian region, said in an interview with The Japan Times during a recent visit to Tokyo. He stressed that listing on Nasdaq, the world's fastest-growing stock market with high liquidity, can help Japanese firms become more internationally minded, increase their visibility in the global marketplace, and allow them to obtain funds at a relatively low cost.

"I think it is entirely up to the corporate decision-makers" of each company to choose where and how to raise capital, Xu said. "But each country's regulatory environment might have considerable impact on the decision-making of corporations in that country."