Kura Sushi Stock Soars as Perks Return—Relatives’ Large Trades in Question

Trust Inc. has risen to become the second-largest shareholder

Some shareholders are outraged, and the internet is buzzing with discussions.

On February 20, on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, major conveyor belt sushi chain Kura Sushi (TSE Prime) saw a flood of buy orders, causing its stock price to hit the daily limit. This happened despite the Nikkei Average closing down by -1.24%, with most stocks experiencing significant declines.

“What happened was that on December 11 last year, Kura Sushi announced plans to abolish its shareholder benefits program. This led to a disappointing sell-off among Kura Sushi fans and investors, causing the stock price to drop by over 30%. However, on February 19, the company suddenly announced the reinstatement of shareholder benefits in the form of meal vouchers based on the number of shares held, which triggered a sharp stock price surge,” explained a business magazine journalist.

The stock price on February 20 closed at its daily limit, up 19.31% (+500 yen) from the previous day. The following day, February 21, it continued to rise, closing up by another 75 yen.

“Some shareholders might be relieved by the reinstatement, but the fact that the stock price had already fallen by over 30% means that many had already sold their shares. Moreover, the reinstated benefits are nearly identical to before—the only real change is that the previous discount vouchers have been replaced with meal vouchers of the same value. Kura Sushi stated that they decided to reinstate the program because they received ‘numerous opinions and requests from shareholders.’ However, for shareholders who incurred losses, this feels like a slap in the face,” commented a national newspaper journalist.

But behind this stock price drop and subsequent surge, there was a notable move by Kura Sushi’s founding family.

According to Kura Sushi’s investor relations (IR) reports, on December 11, when the company announced the abolition of shareholder benefits, just five days later, on December 16, they issued a release stating:

“Trust Inc. (CEO: Shin Tanaka) has notified us that Shin Tanaka (our Vice President) will acquire shares in our company as follows.”

Shin Tanaka, CEO of Trust Inc., is the eldest son of Kura Sushi’s current president, Makoto Tanaka, and also serves as the company’s vice president.

According to the IR release, following the stock price crash, on December 17, Shin Tanaka sold 2.5 million out of his 4 million personally owned shares to his asset management company, Trust Inc.. As a result, Trust Inc. became the second-largest shareholder with a total of 4.4 million shares.