Fun Fact - Sazae-san is a better indicator of Japanese stock performance than the USJanuary 11th, 2008 by Adamu |
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In my new job I deal a lot with the stock market. Here is one fun fact I learned at work:
Sazae-san is a better indicator of Japanese stock performance than the US
Sazae-san (episodic story of a quirky but happy Japanese family, sort of like the Simpsons but more like Leave it to Beaver in the execution) has been the top-rated animated TV show in Japan for almost 40 years. A Daiwa Institute of Research study showed that there is a 0.86 correlation coefficient between Sazae-san viewership and TOPIX movements. This is even higher than the correlation between TOPIX and the NYSE composite index, even though the US markets are supposed to be one of the main drivers of Tokyo trading.
The explanation for this phenomenon is that people tend to go out on Sundays when the stock market is booming and people have money to spend and stay home to watch Sazae-san when it’s slumping and everyone is broke.
Now, just because there is a correlation, that doesn’t mean that you should break into Video Research (the Japanese ratings house) on Sunday night to plan your Monday morning trades. At any rate, if you want to read this theory in detail it is available in paperback.
January 11th, 2008 at 6:43 pm
Didn’t you post this before? Or was that just an email you sent to a few of us?
January 12th, 2008 at 10:01 pm
No it was just in an email. Does anyone really “watch” Sazae-san – it seems so insipid that it could only work only as a) a good distraction for kids; and b) something decent to have on as white noise during Sunday dinner. But then again, I saw a woman in her late 20s reading Chibi Maruko-chan manga on the train last night so my disgust as insipid TV says more about me than anything else.
January 13th, 2008 at 12:09 am
I’ve never watched Sazae-chan or Chibi Maruko-chan, but I do love the Shin-chan manga. Incidentally, the Crayon Shin-chan anime is now being shown on the cartoon network here in the US. I’ve heard reviews from two friends of mine- one hates it more than anything, and one loves it.
January 13th, 2008 at 6:06 am
Awwright.We just watched Sazaesan for precisely for the reason a)and b).
Try manga of Sazaesan.Not bad to understand the social change from late 40’s to mid 70’s.