They may not realize it yet, but Japan Inc.'s executives are increasingly working for a shareholder unlike any other: the nation's money-printing central bank.
While the Bank of Japan's name is nowhere to be found in regulatory filings on major stock investors, the monetary authority's exchange-traded fund purchases have made it a top 10 shareholder in about 90 percent of the Nikkei 225 stock average, according to estimates compiled by Bloomberg from public data. It's now a major owner of more Japanese blue-chips than both BlackRock Inc., the world's largest money manager, and Vanguard Group, which oversees more than $3 trillion.
To critics already wary of the central bank's outsized impact on the Japanese bond market, the BOJ's growing influence in stocks risks distorting valuations and undermining efforts to improve corporate governance. Proponents, meanwhile, say the purchases provide a much-needed boost to investor confidence. With the Nikkei 225 down 7.7 percent this year and inflation well below official targets, a majority of analysts surveyed by Bloomberg predict the BOJ will boost its ETF buying — a move that could come as soon as Thursday.