Reading Japan's weekly figures

Japan's Ministry of Finance reports cross-border securities trades by major investors every week, in units of ¥100 million. This site shows them in yen trillions.

Outward investment is Japanese residents buying or selling foreign securities. Inward investment is foreigners buying or selling Japanese ones. A plus sign means net buying.

Weekly figures are noisy, with large swings around quarter ends and holidays. Look at four-week or 52-week totals for the trend.