Japan’s IPO pipeline hasn’t been this quiet in a decade and a half. The first six months of 2026 saw initial public offerings on the Tokyo Stock Exchange fall to their lowest level since 2011, according to the Financial Times.

The more troubling part: nobody expects things to bounce back anytime soon. Market participants surveyed by the FT project no swift recovery in IPO volumes over the coming months.

What’s happening on the Tokyo Stock Exchange

The Tokyo Stock Exchange, Japan’s primary venue for public listings, has seen new entries slow to a trickle. Analysts cited in the FT report point to an absence of significant catalysts that might spark a turnaround. Low valuations across the broader market, structural challenges that have dogged Japanese equities for years, and cautious investor sentiment are all compounding the problem.

The structural backdrop

Japan’s corporate culture has traditionally favored staying private or maintaining cross-shareholding arrangements that reduce the incentive to list publicly. Recent governance reforms pushed by the Tokyo Stock Exchange itself have aimed to change this, but progress has been gradual at best.

The broader Japanese equity market has actually had moments of strength in recent years, with the Nikkei reaching multi-decade highs. But strong index performance driven by existing large-cap stocks is a very different story from a healthy IPO ecosystem.