Foreign investors buy ¥1.08T of Japanese stocks on AI optimism

Foreign investors purchased a net ¥1.08 trillion of Japanese stocks in the week ended May 23, figures from Japan’s Ministry of Finance showed. AI-linked technology firms led the gains, with SoftBank Group rising 17.62% and chip designer Socionext up 12.26%.

The weekly total was about 14% higher than the prior week’s net purchases of ¥948.4 billion and marked an eighth consecutive week of overseas buying. Foreign inflows into Japanese equities reached nearly ¥11.7 trillion so far in 2026, compared with a net ¥742.1 billion over the same period a year earlier.

Nvidia projected strong demand for its AI chips last week, and investors increased exposure to technology and semiconductor-related companies during the reporting week. Easing oil prices coincided with the period of inflows.

Foreign investors also bought a net ¥1.35 trillion of long-term Japanese government bonds during the week, reversing a ¥1.03 trillion outflow recorded the previous week. At the same time, they sold a net ¥2.22 trillion of short-term Japanese instruments, the largest weekly divestment in those instruments since the week of March 28.

Japanese investors sold a net ¥358.7 billion of foreign stocks in the week, their third weekly net sale in four weeks. They continued to buy foreign long-term bonds, acquiring a net ¥10.3 billion and extending that buying streak to four consecutive weeks.

The Ministry of Finance provided the weekly and year-to-date totals and the breakdown by instrument type.