After a very strong 2025, Japanese stocks have built on those gains in 2026.
The most recent catalyst has been the outcome of the SNAP election.
Prime Minister Senai Takiichi's resounding victory could pave the way for pro-growth policies and might shift global investor perceptions about the Japanese market.
I'm Allison Nathan and this is Goldman Sachs Exchanges.
Today I'm joined by Bruce Kirk, our chief Japan equity strategist and Goldman Sachs research.
He joins us remotely from Tokyo.
Bruce, welcome back to Exchanges.
Hi, Allison.
Thanks for having me on the show.
So let's just start with the recent news, Bruce.
The election, of course, is the news of the day.
You actually raised your target on Japanese equities on the back of Takayichi's victory.
So how consequential really are these results?
Our view is that this election result is extremely consequential,
both from a political stability point of view within Japan and as a positive for the overall Japanese equities market itself.
Now, both of these factors we think are interlinked,
and if you look at the performance following previous election results,
which have been politically significant, you do seem to see that.
So what we observe when we look at the three previous elections historically where an LDP-led coalition has achieved a two-thirds supermajority in the lower house and that would be 2005,
2012 and 2014.