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.
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 type | Net (this week) | Net (prior week) | Purchases | Sales |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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.
Foreign investors, cumulative net (sampled every 4 weeks). Grey = TSE 1st Section period, green = Prime period.
| Investor type | TSE 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
- Source: Japan Exchange Group (JPX), "Trading by Type of Investors" (投資部門別売買状況), weekly, TSE Prime, value (latest file). Nikkei 225 daily prices: Yahoo! Finance.
- Net = purchases minus sales. Amounts are in yen as published; dollar figures use today's USD/JPY (¥157.65 per $1, Yahoo! Finance, 2026-10-30 07:02 JST (18:02 ET Oct 29)), not the rate of each week.
- JPX archives go back to 2016, so the series starts there.
FAQ
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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.