How to use a Japanese stock screener

A five-step process

First choose a goal, such as dividends, value, profitability or growth. Set two or three relevant conditions, check how many companies remain, compare several candidates, then read their financial history and original disclosures.

1. Choose a market and a research goal.
2. Start with a small number of filters.
3. Check the data date and missing values.
4. Compare peers and several financial years.
5. Read filings and assess risks before investing.

Example filters

These are starting points, not recommendations. Thresholds differ by industry and can exclude sound businesses.

1. High dividend and value: yield at least 4%, P/E at most 15, P/B at most 1.
2. Financial strength: ROE at least 10% and equity ratio at least 60%.
3. Profitability: ROE at least 15% and operating margin at least 10%.
4. Small-cap growth: market cap at most JPY 50 billion and revenue growth at least 10%.

Read the result carefully

A low P/E may reflect temporarily high profits; a high yield may reflect a falling share price; high ROE can result from leverage. Check the reason behind each number and the date of the underlying data.