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Toshiro Hasegawa
The government has been encouraging people to shift some of the roughly ¥1 quadrillion held in bank accounts to the stock market, but leading candidates to be the next prime minister have avoided investing in stocks.
BUSINESS
Sep 24, 2024
LDP presidential candidates avoid investing in Japanese stocks
Two of the top candidates, Shinjiro Koizumi and Sanae Takaichi, report owning no shares.
A supermarket in Narita, Chiba Prefecture, operated by Aeon. Shares of Aeon have extended their gains to 25% this year and reached a record high this week.
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 13, 2024
Seven & I proposal fuels rally in Japanese retailers like Aeon
An increase in Japan’s consumer spending, which accounts for more than half of Asia’s second-biggest gross economy, is also supporting retailers.
Japan's pharmaceutical shares have gained 10% since the start of July through last week.
BUSINESS / Companies
Aug 27, 2024
Japan's pharmaceutical stocks surge to record highs after market rout
The firms' market performance suggest investors favor defensive shares amid concern that global economic growth will slow.
The underperformance of the Tokyo Stock Exchange's Growth Market 250 illustrates how smaller companies may bear a heavier burden should Bank of Japan officials raise interest rates.
BUSINESS / Markets
Jul 19, 2024
Newfound love for Japan’s small cap stocks to be tested
Strategists are increasingly concerned that the prospect of rising interest rates will weigh on smaller businesses that are vulnerable to rising borrowing costs.
A drugstore in Tokyo in October
BUSINESS
Dec 23, 2023
Fund that got in before Buffett now likes Japan drugstores
A top fund manager says there’s opportunity to profit from consolidation in the sector.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Feb 14, 2022
Japan money managers shun local market when placing ESG bets
The country's four largest ESG funds have put at least 95% of their net assets in foreign stocks as of this month.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Markets
Dec 17, 2021
Cheap valuations and low inflation to benefit Japan stocks in 2022
COVID-19 infections and deaths at near-record lows and the highest inoculation rate among the G7 countries have also boosted expectations for economic reopening.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Economy
Jun 8, 2021
BOJ’s first ETF-free month under Kuroda wins over some investors
Many market watchers are praising the move, saying that the BOJ's outsized presence has undermined the price discovery process.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Markets
Apr 22, 2021
Human resources firm Visional surges in biggest new Tokyo listing since SoftBank
The operator of Bizreach, one of the country's most popular recruiting platforms for professionals, Visional rose as much as 50% above its u00a55,000 IPO price.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 3, 2021
SoftBank takes top spot on Topix from Toyota as influence grows
While Toyota trades are little changed in 2021, SoftBank stock is up nearly 30%, rallying past a two-decade record to a new high.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 19, 2021
One Fast Retailing share for ¥100,000 sparks concern over Nikkei dominance
Fast Retailing has risen about 80% in the past 12 months and the price per share broke the u00a5100,000 level on Tuesday, making it the only listed company in Japan to trade at such a value.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Markets
Feb 17, 2021
The Nikkei is back at 30,000. But it’s a whole different world.
With the index crash in 1990 that followed the deflating of the asset-price bubble, it would take more than three decades for the benchmark to hit a threshold first reached in 1988.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Markets / FOCUS
Jan 27, 2021
Japan stock rally defies foreign sales thanks to BOJ, banks
The key 225-issue Nikkei average advanced 16% in 2020 despite more than u00a56 trillion of foreign net selling in the cash and futures market, according to Japan Exchange Group data.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Markets
Dec 25, 2020
Interest in trading options on Nikkei average hits decade low after 2020 rally
The market’s interest in trading options on the 225-issue Nikkei average on the Tokyo Stock Exchange has dropped to its lowest in more than a decade amid waning demand for protection against volatility.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Markets
Dec 21, 2020
Foreign investors eye return to Japan stocks after years of selling
The Tokyo Games and a recently forged Asia trade pact will serve as some of the reasons for investors to seek Japan-specific exposure.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Dec 7, 2020
BOJ becomes biggest Japan stock owner with ¥45.1 trillion hoard
The dominant presence of the BOJ, along with the Government Pension Investment Fund, has raised concerns over their influence on market prices.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Oct 1, 2020
Docomo deal signals more unwinding of 'parent-child' listings in Japan
After years of complaints from corporate governance experts, the wave of consolidation or sales of these units is gathering pace.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Economy
Mar 18, 2019
Hundreds of firms may be demoted in Tokyo Stock Exchange shake-up
As part of an effort to streamline markets and attract more investors, the Tokyo Stock Exchange may demote about a third of its largest listed companies and cut down the bourses it operates to three from four, according to media reports.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies / ANALYSIS
May 22, 2018
Japan's earnings reports mostly disappoint, but analysts see hope ahead
With Japan's quarterly reporting period almost over, one analyst summed up the general feeling about companies' profit performance.
BUSINESS / Markets / FOCUS
Apr 4, 2018
As market watchers wonder when easing will taper, Bank of Japan counters sell-off with record buying
It's been a bad year for the Japanese stock market. Without record purchases by the Bank of Japan, it could have been even worse.

Longform

Akira Oishi (left) and Shinichi Okanobori have taken on the responsibility of surveying the flora and fauna of Mount Tenran and Mount Tonosu in Saitama Prefecture.
Inside Japan's 100-year project to monitor its deteriorating biodiversity