Business

The fanfare had barely quieted down after Sony's buyout of Columbia Pictures when the Japanese were at it again. Last week Japan's largest communications ( concern, Fujisankei, paid $150 million to buy a 25% stake in Britain's hottest record company, Virgin Music Group. Fujisankei's holding is the biggest Japanese share in any British company. The deal will give Fujisankei, which owns the daily newspaper Sankei Shimbun and a music and video company called Pony Canyon, entree to the West. Says joint chairman Hiroaki Shikanai: "We want to dispatch our thoughts and our culture to the world."

Virgin founder and chairman Richard Branson has similar ideas about Japan, where his company could market records by such stars as Phil Collins, Paula Abdul and Ziggy Marley. Branson, 39, said the deal will "provide a springboard for our ambitions to become the world's No. 1 music group."