Japan¡¯s stock market has notched up record after record this year, but individual investors are having a harder time joining the party.
That¡¯s because under exchange rules, stocks have to be purchased in lots of 100 shares. That means in the case of Advantest, whose shares have more than doubled to ?20,255, investors need a minimum of ?2 million ($13,000) to buy into the company.
Stocks have become so expensive that the median minimum amount that Japanese investors need to buy shares is 10 times higher than in the United States. In response, firms are announcing stock splits at the fastest pace since 2018.
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