Unsuccessful in his career but outstanding in investments! The Japanese Prime Minister made a 100% profit from stock trading in four years, outperforming the Tokyo Stock Exchange Index

Disappointment in the workplace, gains in the stock market, Japan's Prime Minister has found his comfort zone. Recently, Nomura Securities released a report stating that since the beginning of 2020, Shigeru Ishiba's personal stock investment portfolio has increased by approximately 102%, far exceeding the 60% increase of the Tokyo Stock Exchange Index during the same period. This achievement is also the best among cabinet members, surpassing Finance Minister Katsunobu Kato and Economy Minister Hiroshi Muto, whose portfolios increased by 83% and 53%, respectively. This Prime Minister has long been troubled by "low popularity" and negative news, and he "barely" secured re-election in this election. The latest opinion polls also show that only 31% of people support his cabinet. However, his unique investment insight may help him "turn the tide." According to the Financial Times, Shigeru Ishiba holds seven stocks, including Japan's two major defense contractors, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and Kawasaki Heavy Industries, whose stock prices have soared since Japan announced in 2022 that it would double the proportion of its defense budget in GDP. So far this year, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and Kawasaki Heavy Industries have increased by 20.12% and 74.32%, respectively. In addition, he has invested in Nippon Steel, which is currently involved in a multi-billion dollar acquisition case in the United States. It is worth noting that Japanese cabinet ministers are prohibited from trading stocks, real estate, and other assets while in office. Since 2020, the investment portfolios of Japanese cabinet ministers have remained largely unchanged. Nomura Securities analysts compared Shigeru Ishiba's current investment portfolio with the asset holdings he disclosed during his last term as a cabinet member in 2016 and found almost no change. Furthermore, the report pointed out that, based on the average return rate of stock portfolios since 2020, five cabinet ministers' portfolios outperformed the Tokyo Stock Exchange Index, while seven performed poorly. Among the least skilled stock pickers is the Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare, who is responsible for the $14.5 trillion government pension investment fund, which is also the largest retirement savings fund in the world. Nomura Securities stock strategist Tomochika Kitaoka stated that given the efforts of previous governments to encourage Japanese households to shift cash savings to risk assets, cabinet members, as individual investors, need to lead by example. However, former Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, who announced his resignation in August, did not hold any stocks at all. He also stated: "Considering that cabinet members' trading activities are restricted, investors should not have overly high expectations for the stocks held by cabinet members."