There has been a surprisingly quick turnaround from interest to investment. It took 10 years for institutions to switch to hedge funds, but it’s much faster this time.

The recovery is firing on all pistons … Spending is going to be one of the key surprises that will have us upgrading our assessments.

While a Koizumi win was priced in, such a decisive victory … is more than most were expecting. Koizumi will now be able to push his reform agenda with a much freer hand.

not a total surprise, it is very significant.

There are a lot of uncertainties. Polls don’t really mean a lot.

The industrial production number is a big surprise. The expected knee-jerk reaction was certainly evident at the open.

Foreign investors very much credit Koizumi…with the economic recovery Japan is now enjoying. Strengthening (his) hand to move ahead with further reforms is exactly what investors want to see.

The market is very positive right now. We have strong earnings, lower oil prices, a weak yen and the Bank of Japan predicting deflation is at a near end. It’s like the icing on the...

It’s quite shocking. We don’t really know how investors are going to react. We have to see how fast the Tokyo Stock Exchange can upgrade its system.

Retail investors are value-hunting now. The asset managers and any institutions with money are starting to come back in.

Investors are now coming to grips with the fact that oil is not going to retreat any time soon.