To select the members of our 33rd annual Japan Research Team, Extel solicited opinions of directors of research and heads of investment firms with major securities holdings in Japan. We received responses from 1,045 individuals at 400 firms.

Participants rated their top firms in each sector and then separately rated individual analysts or economists/strategists at those firms to create two distinct rankings for each sector. A numerical score was produced by weighting each vote by the respondent’s Japanese equity commissions and the average rating awarded to create the Commission-weighted leader rankings.

Using these scores, ranks were determined. Firms/Analysts were designated runners‐up when their scores came within 35 percent of the third-place scores. For the analyst rankings, the employment cut-off date for individuals was the date of the survey opening (September 30, 2025).

The individuals surveyed are kept confidential to ensure continuing cooperation. Voters must meet eligibility requirements, and winners must achieve a minimum vote count. All ballots are subject to review by our Research Operations Group.

These results were compiled by Project Managers David Racadio, Vivian Grossi and Amy Tan.