Are foreign investors buying Japanese stocks? Weekly flows

Foreign investors were net buyers of Japanese stocks (TSE Prime) in the week of 2026-10-19 to 2026-10-23: +¥30.4bn (+$193m). The figures are JPX's weekly "Trading by Type of Investors" for the TSE Prime market, and Kaburadar has stacked them for 563 weeks since 2016.

Foreign investors, net (week 10-19 to 10-23)+¥30.4bn+$193m
Prior week−¥343.5bn−$2.18bn
Foreign purchases / sales¥26.07tnsales ¥26.04tn
Cumulative since Apr 2022 (Prime)+¥20.79tn+$131.87bn

Latest week by investor type

Week of 2026-10-19 to 2026-10-23, TSE Prime, value (brokerage and proprietary combined). Among the 563 weeks since 2016, this week's foreign net figure ranks 243 from the top (largest weekly net purchase +¥1.91tn (+$12.11bn), largest net sale −¥1.53tn (−$9.73bn)).

Investor typeNet (this week)Net (prior week)PurchasesSales
Foreign investors+¥30.4bn (+$193m)−¥343.5bn (−$2.18bn)¥26.07tn¥26.04tn
Individuals−¥67.8bn (−$430m)+¥213.4bn (+$1.35bn)¥8.85tn¥8.92tn
Trust banks (pensions etc.)−¥222.8bn (−$1.41bn)−¥76.4bn (−$485m)¥624.2bn¥847.0bn
Investment trusts+¥41.2bn (+$261m)+¥138.1bn (+$876m)¥603.1bn¥562.0bn
Business corporations (incl. buybacks)+¥104.3bn (+$662m)+¥163.3bn (+$1.04bn)¥408.7bn¥304.4bn
Securities firms (proprietary)+¥71.4bn (+$453m)−¥9.6bn (−$61m)¥4.11tn¥4.04tn

Cumulative net purchases since 2016

The market segment changed on 2022-04-04 (TSE 1st Section → Prime). The constituents differ, so the two periods are shown separately and the line is not joined.

−¥14.12tn¥21.10tnApr 2022: TSE 1st Section → Prime20162026-10-09

Foreign investors, cumulative net (sampled every 4 weeks). Grey = TSE 1st Section period, green = Prime period.

Investor typeTSE 1st Section period
2016-01 to 2022-04
Prime period
2022-04 to 2026-10-23
Foreign investors−¥13.15tn (−$83.44bn)+¥20.79tn (+$131.87bn)
Individuals−¥14.63tn (−$92.78bn)−¥10.68tn (−$67.73bn)
Trust banks (pensions etc.)+¥4.15tn (+$26.34bn)−¥24.17tn (−$153.29bn)
Investment trusts−¥5.31tn (−$33.68bn)−¥5.41tn (−$34.31bn)
Business corporations (incl. buybacks)+¥13.07tn (+$82.93bn)+¥34.35tn (+$217.91bn)
Securities firms (proprietary)+¥21.80tn (+$138.27bn)−¥2.45tn (−$15.57bn)

Do foreign flows lead the market?

After weeks in which foreign investors were net buyers (n=269), the Nikkei 225 moved +0.35% on average over the next 5 trading days (rose in 56.1% of cases). The average for all weeks was +0.28% (rose 56.1%). After net-selling weeks (n=292): +0.21%. The differences are not statistically significant (p=0.72 and p=0.77), so weekly foreign flows have not been a useful guide to the next week. The test starts from the trading day after the Thursday publication, because the data is not known before then.

Definitions and source

FAQ

Are foreign investors buying Japanese stocks?
Foreign investors were net buyers of Japanese stocks (TSE Prime) in the week of 2026-10-19 to 2026-10-23: +¥30.4bn (+$193m). JPX publishes the figures every Thursday for the previous week.
When is the JPX weekly foreign investor data released?
JPX publishes "Trading by Type of Investors" every Thursday (Japan time), covering the previous week. This page updates after the publication.
Do foreign net purchases predict the next week's market?
After weeks in which foreign investors were net buyers (n=269), the Nikkei 225 moved +0.35% on average over the next 5 trading days (rose in 56.1% of cases). The average for all weeks was +0.28% (rose 56.1%). After net-selling weeks (n=292): +0.21%. The differences are not statistically significant (p=0.72 and p=0.77), so weekly foreign flows have not been a useful guide to the next week.
Who has been the steadiest buyer of Japanese stocks?
Over the 563 weeks since 2016, the only investor type that was a net buyer in both the TSE 1st Section period and the Prime period is business corporations, which mainly reflects companies buying back their own shares.

Last site update: 2026-10-29 22:57 JST (09:57 ET). Japanese version: 日本株は誰が買っているのか.