The worst Nikkei stocks of last year become 2021’s best

On a high: A pedestrian walks past an electronic stock board outside a securities firm in Tokyo. A surge in Japanese shares this week has pushed the Nikkei 225 past the 30,000 level for the first time since 1990. — Bloomberg

TOKYO: While electric vehicles and cryptocurrencies still grab the headlines, the charge in Japan’s Nikkei 225 Stock Average back to its bubble-era highs has been led by old-world technology like watches and copy machines.

The top performer on the blue-chip gauge so far in 2021 has been office-equipment maker Konica Minolta Inc, which is up 51%. Last year the stock was one of the Nikkei’s worst, with a 45% drop as the shift toward paperless offices got a lift from the Covid-19 work-from-home trend.