TOKYO — Japan’s Nikkei 225 stock average jumped as much as 3.6% to 53,814.79, setting a Nikkei record, Jan. 13, 2026.
The move came as trading reopened after a holiday, with exporters and chip-linked shares catching bids as the yen slid and as speculation grew that Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi could call a snap general election as early as February.
Nikkei record: yen slide and snap-election bets
The broader Topix index also hit an all-time high, rising as much as 2.4% to 3,599.31, according to a Reuters report tracking the session.
The yen sank to record lows of 185.28 per euro and 199.12 per Swiss franc, and fell to a 1 1/2-year low near 158.93 per U.S. dollar. “It’s widely believed in markets that if Takaichi dissolves parliament, the result will be a weaker yen, higher equities and lower bond prices,” Nomura equities strategist Maki Sawada said.
Toyota Motor rose 7.1%, while chip-testing firm Advantest and chip-tool maker Tokyo Electron each gained more than 8%.
Japanese government bonds sold off, pushing the 20-year yield to a record 3.135% and the 10-year yield to a 27-year high of 2.15%.
Reuters has warned Japan could face a self-made “fiscal cliff” if an election delays legislation needed to authorize deficit-covering bonds for the fiscal 2026 budget, in a separate report on the budget timing.
Elsewhere in Asia, South Korea and Taiwan hit record highs, Chinese blue chips reached a four-year peak, and MSCI’s broad Asia-Pacific index outside Japan edged to a fresh record, according to Reuters’ global markets wrap.
In the United States, financial shares fell after President Donald Trump floated a one-year 10% cap on credit card interest rates starting Jan. 20, according to a Reuters account of the selloff. Analysts said a cap would likely require congressional action, and lenders warned it could tighten credit for higher-risk borrowers.
How the Nikkei record fits the longer arc
Today’s Nikkei record extends a rebound that has been building for years. In February 2024, the index finally moved above its 1989 bubble-era peak, helped by foreign inflows and corporate governance changes that encouraged buybacks, Reuters reported in its coverage of that milestone.
It also echoes the market’s early “Takaichi trade.” When she was poised to become premier in October 2025, Japanese stocks surged to record levels while the yen weakened as traders priced in more spending, according to a Reuters recap from that period.
The next test of the Nikkei record will be whether election talk turns into firm dates without intensifying bond-market stress — and whether global risk appetite holds as Washington debates Trump’s credit-card cap and major banks outline their outlooks.
