8 ways to profit from Japan’s recovery

Corporate reform, normalising monetary policy and cheap valuations make Japanese equities a top long-term bet, says Alex Rankine.

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(Image credit: Getty Images)

Although still the world’s third-largest economy, Japan Inc. has languished over the past three decades. As Nicholas Gordon notes in Fortune magazine, in 1995 there were 149 Japanese firms in the magazine’s Global 500 list of top companies as measured by revenue. That was a close second to America’s 151. Today there are just 41 Japanese companies on the list, compared with 136 from the US and 135 from mainland China. 

In the late 20th century, Japan was renowned for its innovative electronics, cars and video games, but the internet boom has largely passed it by. Norihiro Yamaguchi of Oxford Economics points to a stagnant economy and a “cautious investment culture” as the culprits. 

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Markets editor

Alex is an investment writer who has been contributing to MoneyWeek since 2015. He has been the magazine’s markets editor since 2019. 

Alex has a passion for demystifying the often arcane world of finance for a general readership. While financial media tends to focus compulsively on the latest trend, the best opportunities can lie forgotten elsewhere. 

He is especially interested in European equities – where his fluent French helps him to cover the continent’s largest bourse – and emerging markets, where his experience living in Beijing, and conversational Chinese, prove useful. 

Hailing from Leeds, he studied Philosophy, Politics and Economics at the University of Oxford. He also holds a Master of Public Health from the University of Manchester.