When the March 11 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami and the subsequent crisis at Fukushima nuclear power plant burst into the news headlines, Japan was suddenly the focus of global attention.
Within the international hedge fund community, this was arguably the first serious attention the country had been paid in a long time. Natural and nuclear disasters grabbed the headlines, but few had shown interest in the Japan investment story.
It seems Japan’s is a tale of continued slow decline thanks to stalemate party politics and unfavourable demographics, not least its aged population. In terms of attracting investor attention, Japan has to jostle with the razzle-dazzle of prodigious year-on-year economic growth in China and India. Yet investors who think Japan’s day is done, and who sideline it are missing out on a cadre of stellar fund managers producing solid, steady returns.
The question is...