Japanese visitors are still not coming to Hawaiʻi in the numbers that they used to before the pandemic. But at home, they are seeing some economic bright spots, including within the stock market.
This week, Japanʻs main stock indices hit levels they haven't seen for years.
The Nikkei Index of 225 stocks closed Wednesday above 30,000 for the first time since the fall of 2021.
The broader Topix Index has been trading at levels not seen since 1990.
So far this year, Japan is one of Asiaʻs strongest stock markets.
The Nikkei is up 17% this year, compared to about a 1% gain for the Dow Jones Industrial Average.
The Topix is up more than 14% after Wednesdayʻs close — compared to about a 9% gain for the S&P 500.
According to data from the Tokyo Stock Exchange, foreign investors are buying Japanese stocks.
That includes Warren Buffett, who stopped by Tokyo last month, saying he plans to continue investing in Japanese companies.
Goldman Sachs just repeated its bullish view of the Japanese stock market, noting what it called “solid fundamentals.”
This week, the government reported that Japan's economy bounced back to positive growth in the first quarter, following two consecutive quarters of decline — technically a brief recession.
The quarterly increase of 1.6% in GDP came from stronger consumer spending including domestic spending on tourism that was not overseas.
