Japan’s stock rout brings cheer to frustrated shareholders

The Nikkei rose 1.22%, or 178.59 points, to 14,799.12 on Thursday.

TOKYO: The rout in Japanese stocks is, at least in one sense, lining the pockets of shareholders.

The 15% drop in the Topix index this year through last week has increased the appeal of share buybacks, with companies projected to spend a record 5.9 trillion yen (US$52.3bil) in the fiscal year ending March 31, according to one estimate. Another reading shows that dividends are also on the rise, with payouts set to hit 9.9 trillion yen this fiscal year, the highest ever.