The number of individual shareholders of listed companies on Japan’s four stock exchanges rose to a record high in fiscal 2023, surpassing 70 million for the first time, amid an upward trend in stock prices, data from the four exchanges showed.

The figure came to about 74.45 million, up 4.62 million from the previous fiscal year. It was the 10th consecutive year of growth, according to data from the Tokyo, Nagoya, Fukuoka and Sapporo stock exchanges.

Stock prices have been rising sharply lately. The Nikkei Stock Average, made up of 225 bonds, hit a record high in February for the first time since 1989, a period when Japan’s economy was in a bubble due to inflated assets.

The count is calculated by simply adding up the number of shareholders in each company. For example, an investor who owns shares in 10 companies is counted as 10 different shareholders, according to the exchanges.

A screen shows the Nikkei Stock Average and Topix index in Tokyo on July 4, 2024. (Kyodo)

The value of shares held by individual shareholders was 170.49 trillion yen ($1.08 trillion) at the end of the fiscal year in March, up from 39.23 trillion a year ago.

The sharp rise is also attributable to the January revision of the tax-free investment program Nippon Individual Savings Account in Japan. With this, the government wants to stimulate a shift from saving to investing in the stock market.

The largest share of the shares based on value was held by foreign institutional investors and individuals, namely 31.8 percent. That is an increase of 1.7 percentage points compared to the previous fiscal year and reached a record high.

Trust banks accounted for 22.1 percent, the seventh consecutive year that the 20 percent threshold was exceeded, while individual shareholders held 16.9 percent.

The data covered the distribution of shares in fiscal year 2023 across 3,984 companies listed on the four stock exchanges.

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