Merrill adds four in Japan

Last year Merrill Lynch was the most profitable foreign investment bank in Japan, according to figures released by the Japanese Ministry of Finance. It has now invested some of that money in several new hires in domestic equity sales. Daizo Hasegawa joins from UFJ Tsubasa Securities, but has also worked for Lehman Brothers and Okasan Securities in a 14-year career. Another veteran of Okasan Securities is Akemi Ota who is also joining the firm's equity sales team. Joining from Mi…