Columnists Share Techniques for Utilizing Shikiho on Shikiho Online

Is the Autumn Issue a Treasure Trove of Hidden Gems

Known as the Bible of Stock Investing, Kaisha Shikiho can be quite challenging for beginners to navigate. To help with this, we consulted Rie Fujikawa, a charismatic instructor of stock investment courses and a popular columnist for Shikiho Online, to share tips on how to read it and to highlight some noteworthy stocks from the latest issue.

Popular columnist for “Shikiho Online” has never lost a profit or loss for the year so far.

Rie Fujikawa is a stock investment lecturer.

PROFILE: Rie Fujikawa teaches various courses such as “Financial Literacy School” and “Stock Investment School” at “Financial Academy,” the largest financial education institution in Japan. She began investing in stocks in 2009 and increased her initial capital tenfold within five years, maintaining a record of no annual losses. Her publications include “The Most Fun Way to Read Company Shikiho: A Novel-Like Approach to Making 10 Times the Profit!” She also hosts the “Rie Fujikawa’s Girls’ Stock Channel” on YouTube.

Why it is called the “Bible of stock investment”

The “Company Shikiho” (hereafter referred to as Shikiho) is a single volume that compiles information on all listed companies in Japan in a compact format. In addition to data on each company’s business activities, financial conditions, and shareholder information, it also includes articles with earnings forecasts and company trends written by the reporters in charge. This unique earnings forecasting and the articles have garnered support from many investors, leading to it being referred to as the bible of investors.

Shikiho is published four times a year, with the “Spring Edition” released in March, followed by the “Summer Edition” in June, the “Autumn Edition” in September, and the “New Year Edition” in December. However, each B6-sized page, which is nearly the size of a new book, contains dense information with data and articles for two companies stacked vertically, resulting in a total volume exceeding 2,000 pages. While it is packed with valuable information, actually reading through it requires a significant amount of time, which may deter many people from engaging with it.

Therefore, we asked Rie Fujikawa, who has written works related to Shikiho, to share tips for beginners on how to read it, along with selected noteworthy stocks from the latest edition.

Where should you look in “Shikiho” to read between the lines and uncover the true opinions of the reporters?

First, let’s talk about the tips for reading. Among the packed data, there are two main points to pay attention to.

“The highlight of Shikiho is undoubtedly its earnings forecasts and the article sections. The articles, in particular, are quite interesting. They are written in a very limited number of characters, but the headlines and the spaces between the lines reveal the reporters’ true opinions,” says Fujikawa.

The article section consists of a mere 170-character space where important news and trends about companies are reported. It is made up of two topics: the first half focuses on the company’s earnings trends, while the second half highlights noteworthy materials. At first glance, it may seem that only objective facts are being stated.

“Regarding the first half about earnings trends, the headlines typically indicate facts such as ‘continuing rise,’ ‘record profits,’ or ‘falling back.’ However, the latter part sometimes features headlines like ‘watching closely’ or ‘signs,’ which may not be immediately clear in meaning.

This is just my speculation, but you could say it relates to adult situations—the reporters might be trying to convey content that can’t be expressed directly, hoping readers will pick up on their intentions.

The evaluations and analyses that delve into the company’s core, backed by diligent reporting, can be found in these headlines and the spaces between the lines. If a headline catches your interest, starting your reading there is a valid approach.”

 

Fujikawa herself has reported that since adopting this reading method, her stock investment performance has significantly improved. This has led to her impressive record of never experiencing an annual loss since she began investing in stocks in 2009, even after facing several major market declines.

 

The Quarterly Journal is worth reading continuously.

However, it likely requires considerable time and perseverance to read through all of this.

“When you approach it with the mindset of ‘I have to find a stock that will definitely make me money!’ and read with that level of intensity, it can lead to frustration. I think it’s better to relax and take a casual look; that way, you’re more likely to stick with it in the long run.

Shikiho is published four times a year, but it’s common for people to only buy the summer issue released in June. This is because it is the first issue after the final results of the March fiscal year companies, which make up about 70% of listed companies, so the previous year’s performance and the current and next year’s forecasts are updated. In fact, it seems that the summer issue has the highest sales.

However, only reading once a year would be a waste. The value of Shikiho increases when you read it continuously.

For stock investing, the key is tracking changes in earnings forecasts, and to do that, you need to keep reading. It’s not uncommon for the reporters’ intentions embedded in the article sections to become clear in the next issue or the ones that follow. Once you reach that point, reading will become enjoyable.”

 

Finding “Monthly Pix” issues that even beginners can easily imitate

For Shikiho beginners, another practical reading method has been suggested. Each page features a monthly stock price chart for the company at the top. One approach is to quickly check just the stock price charts.

“There are companies where the stock price has been declining with a series of down days or has remained flat, but in the last month’s chart, there’s a single up day.

This means that in the final month, the stock price at the end of the month is higher than at the beginning.

Based on my experience, when the last monthly chart shows a single up day, what I call a ‘monthly pop,’ it often indicates the start of a rising market.”

When Fujikawa flips through Shikiho and spots a monthly pop, she checks the article section and earnings to consider it as a potential investment target.

 

 Treasured issues lie in the fall issue.

Moreover, while the summer issue sells the most, the fall issue, released in September, tends to sell the least, likely as a reaction to that. However, Fujikawa emphasizes that the fall issue is the most useful for stock investment.

“The fall issue is published after the first quarter results of companies with a March fiscal year have been revealed for the April to June period.

In fact, the first quarter results are significant because companies that have upwardly revised their earnings at this stage are likely to continue doing so for the full year.

Companies that succeed in their start dash can maintain their momentum throughout the year. The fall issue makes it easier to find companies whose performance has not yet been reflected in their stock prices.”

One of the features of Shikiho is that it covers all listed stocks. Even for companies that receive little news coverage, the responsible reporters make predictions about their performance.

“One of the attractions of Shikiho is that it allows you to learn about companies you wouldn’t normally have the opportunity to know about.”

Fujikawa picked three notable stocks from the fall issue, which is said to contain hidden treasure stocks. Detailed explanations can be read in the paid version of [FRIDAY Subscription].

FRIDAY SUBSCRIBE】《【FRIDAY SUBSCRIBE】The “Bible of Stock Investment,” “Shihon Shikaku,” has increased its own capital by 10 times in 5 years! Click here for the “3 stocks that experts are paying attention to from “Shikiho (Autumn),” the “Bible of stock investment.