Young brands like Uniqlo and Zensho have led Japan stocks

142 Japanese companies increased share prices tenfold in 'lost decades'

2024022 Nikkei average Uniqlo and Sukiya

Uniqlo parent Fast Retailing and restaurant chain operator Zensho Holdings are among Japanese companies with stock prices that have increased more than tenfold in recent decades. (Nikkei montage/Source photos by Makoto Okada, Kosuke Imamura and Satoko Kawasaki)

KOSUKE IGUCHI and NAMI MATSUURA, Nikkei staff writers

February 22, 2024 19:27 JST

Updated on February 22, 2024 22:21 JST

TOKYO -- The Nikkei Stock Average recorded an all-time high after 34 years on Thursday, with stock prices of 142 companies having increased more than tenfold in that time -- supported more recently by foreign investors cashing in on small businesses and betting on company founders with outsize ambitions.