Return on Japan: Business Profiles for Stock Investing

Introduction and Analysis of Japanese Public Traded Companies.

Latest Articles

Rion: An Acoustics Company Profiting from The Semiconductor Boom.

I would like to anchor my story around a Japanese regulation you might not be familiar with. When a construction site is active in Japan, contractors are required to measure noise pollution. Generally, these regulations aim to keep noise under 85 dB(A), and for this constant monitoring is necessary, which is often done using calibrated noise meters around the perimeter of the construction site. In some cases, vibration levels may also need to be…

A Hidden Champion on Sea and Land: Furuno Electric Co., Ltd.

Japan is a nation surrounded by water, so it comes as no surprise that they host a “hidden champion” equipping a staggering 40% of the merchant vessels currently operating globally. I’m talking about Furuno Electric Co., Ltd (TSE: 6814). This company had its humble beginnings in Nagasaki, where it invented the world’s first practical fish finder to help locate schools of fish in the open water. While those roots are still strong, the technology…

Understanding Mercari’s Success in Japan

Mercari launched in Japan around the time I was finishing university in Tokyo (2013/2014). At that time, I didn’t have any personal experience with the platform; my journey only started a few years later, around 2018. Back then, I had the wild notion that I could make some quick money on the side by buying discounted items—often shoes—at outlet stores and reselling them via the Mercari marketplace. The C2C (consumer-to-consumer) concept was not new…