Japan looks good - but it's not time to invest there yet

The conditions are in place for the Japanese market to turn around after years of disappointment. But first deflation needs to be wiped out once and for all. And that might be a long time coming, warns Cris Sholto Heaton.

It's been a busy fortnight in the markets, with the rally running out of steam amid fears over Greece's debt problems. It's always risky to second-guess the markets over the short term. But my feeling for now is that this has the potential to turn into the big sell-off I've been expecting for months. Sentiment has shifted. Bad news is being seized upon and good news ignored.

That doesn't worry me very much. A slump now will present us with better buying opportunities in a number of stocks.

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Cris Sholto Heaton

Cris Sholto Heaton is an investment analyst and writer who has been contributing to MoneyWeek since 2006 and was managing editor of the magazine between 2016 and 2018. He is especially interested in international investing, believing many investors still focus too much on their home markets and that it pays to take advantage of all the opportunities the world offers. He often writes about Asian equities, international income and global asset allocation.

Cris began his career in financial services consultancy at PwC and Lane Clark & Peacock, before an abrupt change of direction into oil, gas and energy at Petroleum Economist and Platts and subsequently into investment research and writing. In addition to his articles for MoneyWeek, he also works with a number of asset managers, consultancies and financial information providers.

He holds the Chartered Financial Analyst designation and the Investment Management Certificate, as well as degrees in finance and mathematics. He has also studied acting, film-making and photography, and strongly suspects that an awareness of what makes a compelling story is just as important for understanding markets as any amount of qualifications.