Forty-three years to sell an investment portfolio. It seems like a time incompatible with stock markets that react to news in a matter of seconds. Yet this is the horizon indicated for the disposal of ETFs by the Bank of Japan, which today announced an acceleration of sales.
From January 2027, sales will rise to 860 billion yen per year at book value. The estimated time to complete them drops from the previous 112 years to 43. It is a measure of the scale achieved by government intervention in the Japanese stock market.
For those who follow their savings from Italy, the question is understandable: how close can a decision taken in Tokyo be? The answer comes from the investments we have in our portfolio, even when they don’t bear the name of Japan.
Why the Bank of Japan owns ETFs
ETFs allow you to invest in a group of securities. Those indexed follow a reference market: by purchasing them you gain exposure to a basket of assets, rather than just one company.
The Japanese peculiarity is that the central bank has also entered the buyers. ETF purchases were one of the tools of his extraordinary monetary policy.
In March 2024 the BoJ decided to interrupt them. In September 2025 it defined the sales program, indicating among the fundamental principles the need to avoid destabilizing effects on the markets. Today’s news concerns the speed of disposals, within a process already underway.
Sell without putting pressure on the stock market
When a large investor sells, the market must find buyers willing to absorb the offer. Concentrating operations can put pressure on prices; distributing them over time mitigates their potential impact.
The new pace announced corresponds to approximately 0.1% of the market turnover. The 43-year horizon remains a program-related estimate, not a guaranteed deadline.
The book value measures how much the assets are recorded in the balance sheet; the market value depends on the prices. The 860 billion yen should therefore not be presented as a forecast of annual revenues.
The central bank must keep two needs together: reduce its presence in the shareholder base and allow the market to gradually absorb its exit.
Because the news concerns Italian savers
You don’t need to have directly bought stocks in Tokyo to be exposed to Japan. An international fund may include Japanese companies. A global ETF can allocate them a share of the portfolio.
The effect on the individual investment depends, however, on how much Japan it contains, which instruments it uses and any currency hedging. The “global” label alone does not allow us to establish this.
| Investment | Connection with the Japanese decision |
|---|---|
| Japan equity fund or ETF | Exposure to the market affected by the divestitures |
| Global equity fund or ETF | Effect proportionate to the Japanese component |
| Investment in Japanese assets without currency hedging | The yield in euros is also affected by the exchange rate |
| Portfolio of only Italian assets | Possible indirect effects through international markets |
The yen can change the outcome to euros
For a European saver, both the price of the assets and the value of the currency in which they are expressed matter. It is a component of market risk that can go unnoticed.
A purely illustrative example: a Japanese investment gains 5% in local currency, while the yen loses 5% of its value in euros. Without currency hedging, the result is approximately −0.25%, before costs and taxes: 1.05 multiplied by 0.95 gives 0.9975.
Buying a share quoted in euros does not, in itself, eliminate this exposure. It is necessary to distinguish the trading currency from the presence of an exchange rate hedge.
What to observe now between Tokyo and Europe
At the same meeting the BoJ maintained rates at 1.25%, reiterating its availability for further increases. The yen strengthened against the dollar following the decision.
The announcement comes as Asian markets are reeling from concerns over the profitability of investing in artificial intelligence. It would, therefore, be inappropriate to attribute all the declines of the session to ETF sales.
For Europe, the possible effects range from investors’ exposure to Japan, currencies and risk appetite. There is no automatic consequence for Piazza Affari.
The story also leaves a useful question for those who only periodically check their savings: what does my fund really contain? The Japanese path will last decades; understanding its weight in one’s portfolio already helps to better understand fluctuations that, seen from afar, seem inexplicable.
