Japanese companies have embarked on the biggest overseas acquisition spree in more than 20 years, echoing the deal boom of the 1980s as they race to buy growth to offset a shrinking domestic market and ageing workforce.

Corporate Japan splashed out nearly $180bn on 621 outbound deals so far this year, compared with 685 deals with a total value of almost $80bn for the whole of 2017, according to financial data provider Dealogic. The highest recorded value of overseas deals for the last 23 years was in 2012, when it hit more than $110bn.