Samurai Market

Samurai market is a slang term for the stock market in Japan. The samurai market is usually used by non-residents of Japan, with a reference to the iconic Japanese warrior, the samurai.

The term "samurai market" originated in business slang, but has become widely accepted, much like the "yankee market" refers to U.S. markets and the "bulldog market" refers to the market in the United Kingdom.

Today, the term usually refers to the the Tokyo Stock Exchange, which is called Tōshō or TSE/TYO for short. This stock exchange is located in Tokyo, Japan and is the third largest stock exchange in the world by aggregate market capitalization of its listed companies, and largest in Asia. It had 3,619 listed companies with a combined market capitalization of $5.12 trillion, as of March 2018.

In July 2012 a planned merger with the Osaka Securities Exchange was approved by the Japan Fair Trade Commission. The resulting combined entity, the Japan Exchange Group (JPX), was launched on January 1, 2013.

Shares are listed in several sections. The first section, which started when Tokyo Stock Exchange was re-established in 1949, includes mainly large companies; the second section, which started in 1961, includes mainly mid-sized companies. JASDAQ was established in 1991 and acquired by Osaka Stock Exchange in 2010 and absorbed into TSE in 2013. Mothers (Market of the high-growth and emerging stocks) started at TSE in 1999. Mothers and JASDAQ which are for emerging companies. The TOKYO PRO Market was established in 2009 jointly with London Stock Exchange as an AIM.

The Tokyo Stock Exchange was established on May 15, 1878. Trading began on June 1, 1878. In 1943, the exchange was combined with ten other stock exchanges in major Japanese cities to form a single Japanese Stock Exchange. The combined exchange was shut down and reorganized shortly after the bombing of Nagasaki. The Tokyo Stock Exchange reopened under its current Japanese name on May 16, 1949, pursuant to the new Securities Exchange Act. The TSE's growth from 1983 to 1990 was unprecedented. In 1990, it accounted for over 60 percent of the world's stock market capitalization (by far the world's largest) before falling precipitously in value and rank to 4th largest exchange.

The current TSE building was opened on May 23, 1988, replacing the original TSE building from 1931. The TSE trading floor was closed on April 30, 1999, to switch to electronic trading for all transactions. A new facility called TSE Arrows opened on May 9, 2000. A new Arrowhead trading facility replaced it in 2010.

In 2001, the TSE restructured itself as a stock company. Previously, it was structured as an incorporated association, with its members as shareholders.