영어기사 공부하기: Investors are flocking to Japan again

The Japanese stock market is up nearly 30 percent this year, far ahead of the S&P 500, as changes in how companies are run breathe new life into the economy.

The Nikkei has not been this high since the early 1990s, when Japan was slumping into what is known as the Lost Decade.

Canon shareholders have demanded a diverse board of directors, Citizen Watch has said it would buy back up to a quarter of its shares, and the owner of Uniqlo has promised its workers raises of up to 40 percent. The Tokyo Stock Exchange has implored companies to be “conscious” of their share prices. Mix in a surprisingly solid economy this year, a weak currency and ultralow interest rates, and you have the world’s best-performing major stock market.

Quotable: “The fundamental economic conditions in Japan, including corporate earnings, are better than in the U.S., Europe and China,” said a top executive at Nomura Asset Management in Tokyo.

Politics: Reuters reports that Fumio Kishida, Japan’s prime minister, could move to solidify his power with a snap election in the coming days.

---

* implore : to ask someone to do something, in a very emotional way, because you want it very much

‘Don’t leave me!’ she implored.

 

* snap election : a general election (= an election in which every adult can vote for the people who will represent them in parliament) that is called earlier than expected