Holiday Catch-Up And Investing In Japan
Some things I encountered on my travels
I just got back from my trip where I travelled across Japan and the UK with two short stints in Paris and Singapore. Although the goal of my trip was to visit friends and family I couldn’t help but think about potential investing opportunities along the way.
I found Japan to be particularly interesting considering the changes happening in the economy and corporate governance. (In 2021, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida was elected on a “new form of capitalism” that included a plan for increased investment, wage growth and stock market reform. The Tokyo Stock Exchange, for example, has pushed for companies to increase their valuations, boost capital allocation and profitability or risk delisting. One result of this has been a sharp increase in share buyback schemes that have pushed stock market valuations higher. More recently, new Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba has unveiled a fresh stimulus package to help the country jumpstart growth).
On top of economic changes, Japan strikes me as a place filled with opportunity. The country is home to 125 million people with the third largest equity market in the world. (The Tokyo Stock Exchange also sits just below the NYSE and Nasdaq in terms of total market capitalization). Major cities like Tokyo, Yokohama and Osaka are bustling and energetic. The country does have an ageing population with some mature businesses. But with so many publicly traded companies available I believe there are many opportunities to be found. Here are some companies that caught my eye: