The eagle has landed: First a green jacket, now a green light for Japan?

Why investors must now take notice of the country

Last month, Hideki Matsuyama became Japan's first male winner of one of golf’s four major championships by claiming the Masters at the prestigious Augusta National Golf Club. Only three of the world's top 100 ranked male golfers are from Japan.

The country is underrepresented in the upper echelons of the golfing world and it is often underrepresented in investors' portfolios too. Today, Japan accounts for 7.5% of the developed world global equity market, much smaller than the 44% it once accounted for in the late 1980s. Indeed, the equity market is still 24% lower than the peak reached over 30 years ago. Back then the four largest companies in the world were Japanese (all banks). Now you are looking around the 50th largest before you find a Japanese name (Toyota) and past the 150 mark to find the first Japanese bank (MUFG Ba...