'Quantamental' Japan Specialist, LightStream Research

Campbell Gunn

'Quantamental' Japan Specialist

Long-Short Analysis on Japan, Asia and the World

LightStream Research

LightStream conducts quantitatively rigorous and data-driven analysis with a focus on Japan and Asia.

We consistently cover the Tech, Consumer and Industrial sectors, and provide ECM and Events coverage more broadly.

We supplement traditional qualitative insights from company relationships with a robust quantitative foundation that examines as much historical data as is available.
We further refine the accuracy of our insights and calls through the use of alternative data to flesh out current trends, and through a valuation framework that emphasises non-superficial peer group selection and a proper attempt to understand the metrics and changes that have driven security valuations in the past.

Thematic (Sector/Industry)

<div style="text-align: center;"><strong>• NET GAIN • </strong></div><div><div class="content-caption">
<section class="figure"><figure class="editor-figure mceNonEditable"><img src="https://static-prod.smartkarma.com/images/media/000/189/590/original/2021-02-19_07-20-52.png?1613686864" class="editor-image img-responsive" data-smartkarma-image-id="189590"></figure><p></p></section> Source for all charts &amp; tables: Japan Analytics</div></div><div>
<p><strong>NET GAIN</strong> - Forecast Aggregate Net Income for the universe of  Japanese listed companies ended the quarter 23.8%  higher than three months ago - an increase of  ¥5.2 trillion. As a result, the market's forward earnings multiple has declined to 28 times following a 10% increase in total market value (ex REITs). The increase in forecast operating income is a more modest 10.2% reflecting the degree of previously-projected COVID-related extraordinary losses.</p>
<section class="figure"><figure class="editor-figure mceNonEditable"><img src="https://static-prod.smartkarma.com/images/media/000/189/591/original/2021-02-19_07-29-59.png?1613687413" class="editor-image img-responsive" data-smartkarma-image-id="189591"></figure></section><p><strong>TRAILING TWELVE MONTHS (TTM)</strong> - Trailing revenues and operating profits are still falling by 9.9% and 26.3%, respectively; however, operating income rose by 4.1% quarter-on-quarter as margins improved by 30 basis points. Despite a reasonable effort at cost-cutting, aggregate operating margins are still  228 bps below their mid-2018 peak, and it will take at least another eight quarters for that gap to be closed.</p>
<section class="figure"><figure class="editor-figure mceNonEditable"><img src="https://static-prod.smartkarma.com/images/media/000/189/595/original/2021-02-19_07-38-34.png?1613687927" class="editor-image img-responsive" data-smartkarma-image-id="189595"></figure></section><p><strong>FORECASTS</strong> - The majority of companies are forecasting for the year ending next month. Despite no change in the aggregate revenue forecast, the outlook for operating income increased by ¥3.7 trillion during the quarter resulting in a 50 bps operating margin uplift. </p>
</div><section><section class="figure"><figure class="editor-figure mceNonEditable"><img src="https://static-prod.smartkarma.com/images/media/000/189/596/original/2021-02-19_07-40-09.png?1613688021" class="editor-image img-responsive" data-smartkarma-image-id="189596"></figure><hr></section><p><strong>POSITIVE MOMENTUM</strong> - Both our forward-looking Results Score and Results &amp; Revision Score have returned to the positive after less than one year. Whether this merits a new thirty-year high in TOPIX is, however, a moot point. We would note that the Cabinet Office Leading Indicator of Business Conditions for December turned down for the first time since April 2020.   </p></section><div></div><div>
<section class="figure"><figure class="editor-figure mceNonEditable"><img src="https://static-prod.smartkarma.com/images/media/000/189/597/original/2021-02-19_08-02-24.png?1613689355" class="editor-image img-responsive" data-smartkarma-image-id="189597"></figure></section><section class="figure"><figure class="editor-figure mceNonEditable"><img src="https://static-prod.smartkarma.com/images/media/000/189/694/original/2021-02-19_16-02-06.png?1613718138" class="editor-image img-responsive" data-smartkarma-image-id="189694"></figure><hr></section><p><strong>SECTOR BREAKDOWN</strong> - The leading sectors in terms of one-month change in Results &amp; Revision Score are <strong>Other Commercial Products</strong>, <strong>Autos</strong>,<strong> Other Consumer Products</strong>, <strong>Metals</strong>, and <strong>Building Materials.</strong> The RRS 'losers' are <strong>Utilities</strong>, <strong>Internet Content &amp; Services</strong>, <strong>Food, Beverages &amp; Tobacco,</strong><strong>Retail</strong>, and <strong>Healthcare</strong>.  </p>
</div><div>
<section class="figure"><figure class="editor-figure mceNonEditable"><img src="https://static-prod.smartkarma.com/images/media/000/189/700/original/2021-02-19_16-05-32.png?1613718344" class="editor-image img-responsive" data-smartkarma-image-id="189700"></figure></section><section class="figure"><figure class="editor-figure mceNonEditable"><img src="https://static-prod.smartkarma.com/images/media/000/189/701/original/2021-02-19_16-06-12.png?1613718383" class="editor-image img-responsive" data-smartkarma-image-id="189701"></figure></section><hr>
</div><section></section><div><div>
<p>In the <strong>DETAIL</strong> section below, we shall review the actual results and initial and revised forecasts by Sector and highlight the best and worst-performing companies by one-quarter revenue and margin changes.</p>
<hr>
<p></p>
</div></div>

• NET GAIN • 
 Source for all charts &amp; tables: Japan Analytics
NET GAIN - Forecast Aggregate Net Income for the universe of  Japanese listed companies ended the quarter 23.8%  higher than three months ago - an increase of  ¥5.2 trillion. As a result, the market's forward earnings multiple has declined to 28 times following a 10% increase in total market value (ex REITs). The increase in forecast operating income is a more modest 10.2% reflecting the degree of previously-projected COVID-related extraordinary losses.
TRAILING TWELVE MONTHS (TTM) - Trailing revenues and operating profits are still falling by 9.9% and 26.3%, respectively; however, operating income rose by 4.1% quarter-on-quarter as margins improved by 30 basis points. Despite a reasonable effort at cost-cutting, aggregate operating margins are still  228 bps below their mid-2018 peak, and it will take at least another eight quarters for that gap to be closed.
FORECASTS - The majority of companies are forecasting for the year ending next month. Despite no change in the aggregate revenue forecast, the outlook for operating income increased by ¥3.7 trillion during the quarter resulting in a 50 bps operating margin uplift. 
POSITIVE MOMENTUM - Both our forward-looking Results Score and Results &amp; Revision Score have returned to the positive after less than one year. Whether this merits a new thirty-year high in TOPIX is, however, a moot point. We would note that the Cabinet Office Leading Indicator of Business Conditions for December turned down for the first time since April 2020.   
SECTOR BREAKDOWN - The leading sectors in terms of one-month change in Results &amp; Revision Score are Other Commercial Products, Autos, Other Consumer Products, Metals, and Building Materials. The RRS 'losers' are Utilities, Internet Content &amp; Services, Food, Beverages &amp; Tobacco,Retail, and Healthcare.  



In the DETAIL section below, we shall review the actual results and initial and revised forecasts by Sector and highlight the best and worst-performing companies by one-quarter revenue and margin changes.




🇯🇵 JAPAN • IT’S A WRAP - Winter 2020 Results & Revisions Review

<p style="text-align: center;"><strong>• THE POST-COVID ROTATION •</strong></p><section class="figure"><figure class="editor-figure mceNonEditable"><img src="https://static-prod.smartkarma.com/images/media/000/187/193/original/2021-02-06_10-51-22.png?1612670102" class="editor-image img-responsive" data-smartkarma-image-id="187193"></figure></section><section class="figure"><figure class="editor-figure mceNonEditable"><img src="https://static-prod.smartkarma.com/images/media/000/187/194/original/2021-02-06_10-51-43.png?1612670115" class="editor-image img-responsive" data-smartkarma-image-id="187194"></figure><div class="content-caption"> Source for all charts &amp; tables: Japan Analytics</div></section><p><strong>THE 2021 ROTATION BEGINS</strong> -  For most of the last year, the Japanese equity market has been led by overvalued and overbought high-quality growth companies in the <strong>Technology Hardware</strong>, <strong>Electrical Equipment</strong>, <strong>Internet</strong>, and <strong>Healthcare</strong> Sectors. These companies were deemed to be COVID-resistant and were consistently well-bid regardless of price. The stock leading this ''charge' were <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/m3-inc" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:13316:1" rel="noopener">M3 Inc (2413 JP)</a> +163%, <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/lasertec-corp" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:4126:1" rel="noopener">Lasertec (6920 JP)</a> +151%, <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/monotaro-co-ltd" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:15441:1" rel="noopener">MonotaRO (3064 JP)</a> +108%, <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/gmo-payment-gateway-inc" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:1492:1" rel="noopener">GMO Payment Gateway (3769 JP)</a> +110%, and <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/nidec-corp" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:7245:1" rel="noopener">Nidec (6594 JP)</a> +97%. The only deep cyclical Sector that saw a significant recovery was <strong>Energy</strong>. Meanwhile, shares in domestically-orientated Sectors and companies heavily exposed to COVID-related delines in business activity languished despite valuations reaching ten or twenty-year lows.</p><p></p><section class="figure"><figure class="editor-figure mceNonEditable"><img src="https://static-prod.smartkarma.com/images/media/000/187/199/original/2021-02-06_10-52-30.png?1612678419" class="editor-image img-responsive" data-smartkarma-image-id="187199"></figure></section><p><strong>THE VALUE RENAISSANCE</strong> - Over the last four weeks, however, a major shift in market sentiment has occurred as profit-taking in the former 'Quality-At-Any-Price' group has coincided with a significant rally in the latter 'Deep-Value' group. In terms of our Relative Price Score, the best-performing Sectors over the last month have been <strong>Media</strong>,<strong> Telecommunications</strong>, <strong>Restaurants</strong>, <strong>Building Material</strong>s, and <strong>Consumer Services</strong>. The best-performing larger caps have included <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/west-japan-railway-co" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:12077:1" rel="noopener">West Japan Railway (9021 JP)</a> +26%, <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/dentsu-inc" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:12434:1" rel="noopener">Dentsu (4324 JP)</a> +25%, <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/create-restaurants-holdings-inc" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:11513:1" rel="noopener">create restaurants (3387 JP)</a> +61%. With the second State of Emergency having capped Japan's third COVID wave and a vaccination programme likely to start next month, the market is discounting a post-COVID economic normalisation. </p><section class="figure"><figure class="editor-figure mceNonEditable"><img src="https://static-prod.smartkarma.com/images/media/000/187/216/original/2021-02-07_17-08-33.png?1612685331" class="editor-image img-responsive" data-smartkarma-image-id="187216"></figure></section><p><strong>RESULTS &amp; REVISION-DRIVEN</strong> - This change in market direction is also reflected in our earnings momentum scoring methodology - the Results &amp; Revision Score. Although only one-third of listed companies have reported mostly third-quarter results, the trends are broadly supportive of the current rotation. Cyclical and domestic Sectors such as <strong>Metals</strong>, <strong>Media</strong>, <strong>Consumer Services</strong>, <strong>Wholesale</strong>, <strong>Transport</strong>, and<strong> Real Estate</strong> are 'outperforming' the market's average earnings momentum, while the I<strong>nternet</strong>, <strong>Healthcare</strong>,<strong> Commerical Services</strong>, and <strong>Energy</strong> are lagging.</p><section class="figure"><figure class="editor-figure mceNonEditable"><img src="https://static-prod.smartkarma.com/images/media/000/187/306/original/2021-02-08_05-28-53.png?1612729747" class="editor-image img-responsive" data-smartkarma-image-id="187306"></figure><p><strong>TRAILING &amp; FORECAST EARNINGS BOTTOM</strong><strong>OUT</strong> -  While our scoring methodology is more forward-looking, the results and forecasts announced to date confirm that the economy bottomed out in the fourth calendar quarter of last year. With aggregate market capitalisation (ex REITs) close to a new long-term high, at least one year of earnings recovery has already been discounted.</p></section><section class="figure"><figure class="editor-figure mceNonEditable"><img src="https://static-prod.smartkarma.com/images/media/000/187/227/original/2021-02-06_12-20-31.png?1612688721" class="editor-image img-responsive" data-smartkarma-image-id="187227"></figure></section><p></p><div>
<hr>
<p style="text-align: center;"><strong>• RESULTS &amp; REVISIONS SUMMARY - 5th FEBRUARY •</strong></p>
</div><div><p>Of Friday's 331 results announcements, 71% scored positively for earnings momentum despite trailing revenues falling by 3.8% on average. Operating margins rose by 90 basis points. 11% of companies were in the red for the quarter.  66% of the 134 annual forecasts/revision announcements scored positively, and the average Forecast/Revision score was +2.6 points.</p></div><div>
<p style="text-align: center;"><strong>• BEST &amp; WORST •</strong></p>
<p style="text-align: left;">Friday's 'best' pair of larger-cap companies is <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/agc-inc" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:2167:1" rel="noopener">AGC (5201 JP)</a> and <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/mitsui-fudosan-co-ltd" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:565:1" rel="noopener">Mitsui Fudosan (8801 JP)</a>, while the worst two announcements came from <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/fuji-heavy-industries-ltd" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:5439:1" rel="noopener">Subaru (7270 JP)</a> and the overvalued and overbought <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/daifuku-co-ltd" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:10408:1" rel="noopener">Daifuku (6383 JP)</a>.   For more, see the <strong>DETAIL</strong> section below.</p>
<section class="figure"><figure class="editor-figure mceNonEditable"><img src="https://static-prod.smartkarma.com/images/media/000/187/304/original/2021-02-08_05-26-25.png?1612729598" class="editor-image img-responsive" data-smartkarma-image-id="187304"></figure></section><section class="figure"><figure class="editor-figure mceNonEditable"><img src="https://static-prod.smartkarma.com/images/media/000/187/305/original/2021-02-08_05-27-07.png?1612729640" class="editor-image img-responsive" data-smartkarma-image-id="187305"></figure></section><section class="figure"><figure class="editor-figure mceNonEditable"><img src="https://static-prod.smartkarma.com/images/media/000/187/307/original/2021-02-08_05-31-32.png?1612729905" class="editor-image img-responsive" data-smartkarma-image-id="187307"></figure></section><section class="figure"><figure class="editor-figure mceNonEditable"><img src="https://static-prod.smartkarma.com/images/media/000/187/308/original/2021-02-08_05-32-44.png?1612729980" class="editor-image img-responsive" data-smartkarma-image-id="187308"></figure></section><p></p>
</div>

• THE POST-COVID ROTATION • Source for all charts &amp; tables: Japan AnalyticsTHE 2021 ROTATION BEGINS -  For most of the last year, the Japanese equity market has been led by overvalued and overbought high-quality growth companies in the Technology Hardware, Electrical Equipment, Internet, and Healthcare Sectors. These companies were deemed to be COVID-resistant and were consistently well-bid regardless of price. The stock leading this ''charge' were M3 Inc (2413 JP) +163%, Lasertec (6920 JP) +151%, MonotaRO (3064 JP) +108%, GMO Payment Gateway (3769 JP) +110%, and Nidec (6594 JP) +97%. The only deep cyclical Sector that saw a significant recovery was Energy. Meanwhile, shares in domestically-orientated Sectors and companies heavily exposed to COVID-related delines in business activity languished despite valuations reaching ten or twenty-year lows.THE VALUE RENAISSANCE - Over the last four weeks, however, a major shift in market sentiment has occurred as profit-taking in the former 'Quality-At-Any-Price' group has coincided with a significant rally in the latter 'Deep-Value' group. In terms of our Relative Price Score, the best-performing Sectors over the last month have been Media, Telecommunications, Restaurants, Building Materials, and Consumer Services. The best-performing larger caps have included West Japan Railway (9021 JP) +26%, Dentsu (4324 JP) +25%, create restaurants (3387 JP) +61%. With the second State of Emergency having capped Japan's third COVID wave and a vaccination programme likely to start next month, the market is discounting a post-COVID economic normalisation. RESULTS &amp; REVISION-DRIVEN - This change in market direction is also reflected in our earnings momentum scoring methodology - the Results &amp; Revision Score. Although only one-third of listed companies have reported mostly third-quarter results, the trends are broadly supportive of the current rotation. Cyclical and domestic Sectors such as Metals, Media, Consumer Services, Wholesale, Transport, and Real Estate are 'outperforming' the market's average earnings momentum, while the Internet, Healthcare, Commerical Services, and Energy are lagging.TRAILING &amp; FORECAST EARNINGS BOTTOMOUT -  While our scoring methodology is more forward-looking, the results and forecasts announced to date confirm that the economy bottomed out in the fourth calendar quarter of last year. With aggregate market capitalisation (ex REITs) close to a new long-term high, at least one year of earnings recovery has already been discounted.

• RESULTS &amp; REVISIONS SUMMARY - 5th FEBRUARY •
Of Friday's 331 results announcements, 71% scored positively for earnings momentum despite trailing revenues falling by 3.8% on average. Operating margins rose by 90 basis points. 11% of companies were in the red for the quarter.  66% of the 134 annual forecasts/revision announcements scored positively, and the average Forecast/Revision score was +2.6 points.
• BEST &amp; WORST •
Friday's 'best' pair of larger-cap companies is AGC (5201 JP) and Mitsui Fudosan (8801 JP), while the worst two announcements came from Subaru (7270 JP) and the overvalued and overbought Daifuku (6383 JP).   For more, see the DETAIL section below.



🇯🇵 JAPAN • The Post-COVID Rotation from Growth to Value Begins + 02/05 Results & Revisions Update

<p style="text-align: center;"><strong>• RELATIVE PRICE SCORE OUTLIERS •</strong></p><section class="figure"><figure class="editor-figure mceNonEditable"><img src="https://static-prod.smartkarma.com/images/media/000/183/304/original/2021-01-18_07-21-17.png?1611015356" class="editor-image img-responsive" data-smartkarma-image-id="183304"></figure></section><section class="figure"><figure class="editor-figure mceNonEditable"><img src="https://static-prod.smartkarma.com/images/media/000/183/305/original/2021-01-19_09-18-35.png?1611015525" class="editor-image img-responsive" data-smartkarma-image-id="183305"></figure><div class="content-caption">Source for all charts &amp; tables: Japan Analytics</div></section><p><strong>POLES APART</strong><strong>&amp; ECHOES OF 2000</strong>- As the Japanese equity market continues to rise the 'spread' between the percentage of listed companies that are OverSold (Relative Price Score &lt;-2.0) and those that are OverBought (RPS &gt; 4.0) remains at extreme levels as does the spread in terms of market weight. 7.2% of listed companies are Oversold; while 2.2% are OverBought, but the latter account for 13.7% of market value; the former just 5.4%. The last time both pairs of metrics were at these levels was the 2000 technology bubble.</p><section class="figure"><figure class="editor-figure mceNonEditable"><img src="https://static-prod.smartkarma.com/images/media/000/183/321/original/2021-01-19_10-25-51.png?1611019564" class="editor-image img-responsive" data-smartkarma-image-id="183321"></figure></section><section class="figure"><figure class="editor-figure mceNonEditable"><img src="https://static-prod.smartkarma.com/images/media/000/183/323/original/2021-01-19_10-27-10.png?1611019660" class="editor-image img-responsive" data-smartkarma-image-id="183323"></figure></section><p><strong>BLOW OUT</strong> - As was the case in 2000, the total number of Sectors either OverBought or Oversold is also at an extreme level having peaked at 13 in December. This number has been exceeded only twice in the last fifty years  - in December 1999 (16) and February 2000 (14).   </p><section class="figure"><figure class="editor-figure mceNonEditable"><img src="https://static-prod.smartkarma.com/images/media/000/183/363/original/2021-01-19_12-45-46.png?1611027961" class="editor-image img-responsive" data-smartkarma-image-id="183363"></figure></section><section class="figure"><figure class="editor-figure mceNonEditable"><img src="https://static-prod.smartkarma.com/images/media/000/183/367/original/2021-01-19_13-09-06.png?1611029374" class="editor-image img-responsive" data-smartkarma-image-id="183367"></figure></section><div><p>In the<strong> DETAIL</strong> section below, we provide an update on  Sector, Peer Group and individual company Relative Price Score trends and outliers and make some stock-specific recommendations.</p></div><div><div><div class="content-highlight"><p><strong>THE JAPAN ANALYTICS RELATIVE PRICE SCORE</strong> -  The Relative Price Score (RPS) is a measure of price performance relative to TOPIX calculated by comparing the current deviation with the mean absolute deviation of monthly and daily relative share prices over the last 28 years and 24 months, respectively. As all companies on a comparable scale, 'Overbought' and 'Oversold' outliers and short-term changes in scoring can offer some trading opportunities. The data for all 3,919 currently-listed Companies is cap-weight-aggregated into Relative Price Scores for our 328 Peer Groups and 30 Sectors. The Overbought and Oversold outlier 'thresholds are set' at +4 &amp; -2 for Companies, +3 &amp; -1.5 for Peer Groups and +2 and -1 for Sectors, respectively. These thresholds equate with the top and bottom percentiles of over 3.2 million observations.</p></div></div></div>

• RELATIVE PRICE SCORE OUTLIERS •Source for all charts &amp; tables: Japan AnalyticsPOLES APART&amp; ECHOES OF 2000- As the Japanese equity market continues to rise the 'spread' between the percentage of listed companies that are OverSold (Relative Price Score &lt;-2.0) and those that are OverBought (RPS &gt; 4.0) remains at extreme levels as does the spread in terms of market weight. 7.2% of listed companies are Oversold; while 2.2% are OverBought, but the latter account for 13.7% of market value; the former just 5.4%. The last time both pairs of metrics were at these levels was the 2000 technology bubble.BLOW OUT - As was the case in 2000, the total number of Sectors either OverBought or Oversold is also at an extreme level having peaked at 13 in December. This number has been exceeded only twice in the last fifty years  - in December 1999 (16) and February 2000 (14).   In the DETAIL section below, we provide an update on  Sector, Peer Group and individual company Relative Price Score trends and outliers and make some stock-specific recommendations.THE JAPAN ANALYTICS RELATIVE PRICE SCORE -  The Relative Price Score (RPS) is a measure of price performance relative to TOPIX calculated by comparing the current deviation with the mean absolute deviation of monthly and daily relative share prices over the last 28 years and 24 months, respectively. As all companies on a comparable scale, 'Overbought' and 'Oversold' outliers and short-term changes in scoring can offer some trading opportunities. The data for all 3,919 currently-listed Companies is cap-weight-aggregated into Relative Price Scores for our 328 Peer Groups and 30 Sectors. The Overbought and Oversold outlier 'thresholds are set' at +4 &amp; -2 for Companies, +3 &amp; -1.5 for Peer Groups and +2 and -1 for Sectors, respectively. These thresholds equate with the top and bottom percentiles of over 3.2 million observations.

🇯🇵 JAPAN • January Relative Price Scores -  Actionable Mean Reversion Trades

Japan Specialist

Mark Chadwick

<div><p><span xml:lang="EN-US" data-contrast="none">There has been growing awareness of the business case for inclusion and diversity (I&amp;D) in the workplace. In Japan, Prime Minister Suga has pledged continued government support for corporate governance reform and he would like to see more </span><span xml:lang="EN-US" data-contrast="none">women</span><span xml:lang="EN-US" data-contrast="none"> and foreigners in key positions. While many companies cite I&amp;D as a source of competitive advantage and a key enabler of growth, few academic studies have been able to prove a direct link between I&amp;D and financial performance. Our analysis on Japan’s larger companies suggests the following:</span><span data-ccp-props='{"201341983":0,"335551550":6,"335551620":6,"335559739":160,"335559740":259}'> </span></p></div><div><ol style="list-style-type: decimal;" role="list" start="1"><li role="listitem" data-leveltext="%1." data-font="Calibri" data-listid="1" aria-setsize="-1" data-aria-posinset="1" data-aria-level="1"><p><span xml:lang="EN-US" data-contrast="none">Most Japanese companies have very low levels of diversity. Although the participation of women on the boards of Japanese companies is expanding, those with higher levels of diversity are yet to see any improvement in financial metrics or stock performance. </span><span data-ccp-props='{"201341983":0,"335551550":6,"335551620":6,"335559739":160,"335559740":259}'> </span></p></li></ol></div><div><ol style="list-style-type: decimal;" role="list" start="2"><li role="listitem" data-leveltext="%1." data-font="Calibri" data-listid="1" aria-setsize="-1" data-aria-posinset="2" data-aria-level="1"><p><span xml:lang="EN-US" data-contrast="none">Our broad composite index of board entrenchment also bears little correlation with key metrics. However, boards that are younger on average do appear to be more effective, and are correlated with a broad range of operating metrics. </span><span data-ccp-props='{"201341983":0,"335551550":6,"335551620":6,"335559739":160,"335559740":259}'> </span></p></li></ol></div>

There has been growing awareness of the business case for inclusion and diversity (I&amp;D) in the workplace. In Japan, Prime Minister Suga has pledged continued government support for corporate governance reform and he would like to see more women and foreigners in key positions. While many companies cite I&amp;D as a source of competitive advantage and a key enabler of growth, few academic studies have been able to prove a direct link between I&amp;D and financial performance. Our analysis on Japan’s larger companies suggests the following: Most Japanese companies have very low levels of diversity. Although the participation of women on the boards of Japanese companies is expanding, those with higher levels of diversity are yet to see any improvement in financial metrics or stock performance.  Our broad composite index of board entrenchment also bears little correlation with key metrics. However, boards that are younger on average do appear to be more effective, and are correlated with a broad range of operating metrics.  

Asia Pac ECM and Index Rebal, Shenton Research

Ke Yan, CFA, FRM

Asia Pac ECM and Index Rebal

Asia Pac IPO & Placement Research, China Biotech

DZT Research

DZT Research is an independent Asia Pacific equity specialist. Our quantitative research covers index rebalancing flows, alongside exchange data analytics accross Asia Pacific. On the equity capital markets side, we focus on Asia Pacific ECM, especially biotech and TMT. Our lead analyst is frequently cited by international media.

Index Rebalance

<ul>
<li>MSCI Japan June 2026 added 3 stocks and deleted 14. With the first implementation week complete, we review current-cycle performance vs history.</li>
<li>ADDs gave back after a positive bridge. All 3 ADDs fell in WI0-4, with aggregate return of -9.0% vs the historical ADD mean of -2.9%.</li>
<li>DELETEs rose +3.4% in WI0-4, the strongest first-week result in the study history. Low-velocity DELETEs also rose, returning +2.6% across 4 names with data.</li>
</ul>


MSCI Japan June 2026 added 3 stocks and deleted 14. With the first implementation week complete, we review current-cycle performance vs history.
ADDs gave back after a positive bridge. All 3 ADDs fell in WI0-4, with aggregate return of -9.0% vs the historical ADD mean of -2.9%.
DELETEs rose +3.4% in WI0-4, the strongest first-week result in the study history. Low-velocity DELETEs also rose, returning +2.6% across 4 names with data.


MS-Japan June 2026 Rebalance: Post-Implementation Review

Japan

M3, Inc. supplies medical information services for doctors through the Internet. The Company also supports marketing of pharmaceutical companies and medical equipment manufacturers.

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M3 Inc (2413 JP)

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