The PSA Japan Weekly Research Round-Up for the week ending 29 January, 2021

Weekly Comment Summary
The GameStop US market shenanigans have triggered Pelham Smithers to pen a nostalgic look back at Matsui Securities in its pomp, the dawn of the MOTHERS market, and the glory days of Japan's day traders. As so often, technological advances - here the internet – and gaming prowess are major factors in the story.

Reports / Flash Notes Summaries
1. Yaskawa (6506 JT): FY20 Robotics Call
2. Is the Bull Market in Capacitors Set to Extend to Electrolytes?
3. Sony, Hipgnosis and Spinning off Music Publishing
4. Fanuc FY20 Q3 Results – Record Robotics Orders & Sales; Robodrills Robust
Company / Sector / Thematic Views and Comments
Technology: Consumer Electronics, Gaming
1. Sony’s Latest Crystal-LED Displays
2. Koei Tecmo (3635 JT) Smashes its FY20 OP Forecast in the Q3
3. Square Enix’s (9684 JT) Disney Music Parade Tops the Download Charts
Technology: Industrial Electronics and Electronic Components
4. Is the Bull Market in Capacitors Set to Extend to Electrolytes?
5. Impressive Dec Qtr Results from IC / PC / SPE Supply Chain Companies
6. Koa (6999 JT) Forecasts Highest Qtr OP Since 4Q FY18
7. JAE (6807 JT) 3Q FY20 OP Good Enough for Earnings Upgrade
8. Strong FY20 Q3 Results from Nitto Denko (6988 JT)
9. Murata’s (6981 JT) FY20 3Q OP Breaks ¥100bil Barrier
10. NEC’s (6701 JT) FY20 3Q OP +101% YoY
11. TDK (6762 JT) 3Q FY20 OP +12% YoY
12. Anritsu (6754 JT) FY20 3Q OP -10% YoY
13. Nidec’s (6594 JT) FY20 Q3 Results / EV Vision
14. Hitachi (6501 JT) Announces New SiC TEC-MOS Power Device
15. Modified Polyimide as an Alternative to LCP in 5G circuits
16. Friday Results Round-up
17. Tech Moves that Caught Our Eye
Technology: Semiconductor Production Equipment & Precision
18. Disco (6146 JT) 3Q FY20 OP +58% YoY
19. Canon (7751 JT)4Q OP +45% YoY
20. Advantest (6857 JT): 3Q OP Just +7% YoY but Orders Surge
21. Hoya (7741 JT) Sold Off Despite Record Profits
Chemicals / Materials
22. Interest is High on JSR’s Restructuring Plans
23. Shin-Etsu Chemical: PVC Front and Center
Auto Parts / Machinery
24. Powerful Q3 for Fanuc (6954 JT) Led by Robotics / Robodrills
25. Yaskawa (6506 JT) Feedback from Conference Call on Robotics
26. Single-Digit Gains in FY20 Q3 Results at Keyence (6961 JT)
Telecom
27. KDDI (9433 JT) FY20 3Q OP -2% YoY
28. Son Stepping Down as Chairman of SoftBank Group (9984 JT)
Internet / eCommerce
29. CyberAgent (4751 JT) Disappoints on Gaming but Races Ahead with Abema
Enterprise Software
30. NRI (4307 JT) FY20 Q3 Results: What We Were Looking for, and What We Got
31. NTT Data (9432: FY20 Q3 Preview
32. Obic (4384 JT) Produces Steady FY20 Q3 Earnings
33. OBC (4733 JT) Strikes More Negative Tone than Largest Shareholder Obic
34. Cybozu (4776 JT) Posts Strong December Cloud Sales
35. TIS Inc (3626 JT): FY20 Q3 Preview
36. PCA’s (9629 JT) FY20 Q3 Results: Better Than They Look
37. Japan Government to Lift Ban on Digital Salary Payments?
38. M3’s (2413 JT) FY20 Q3 OP +76% YoY
Pharma
39. Positive Reports on Eisai’s (4523 JT) BAN-2401
40. Moderna (MRNA US) Vaccine Trial in Japan Gives Takeda (4502 JT) a Boost
41. Astellas (4503 JT) Reports Lacklustre FY20 Q3 Results
Miscellaneous / Market
42. Other Moves that Caught Our Eye
Macro
43. Cash Squeeze on China and Japan’s Macro Data Suggests it Remains in a “Muddle Through” Scenario

PSA Company Visits, Tours and Interviews
• Conference Calls with: (Email Q&As with Sansan (4443 JT), Money Forward (3994 JT)); Kaneka (4118 JT), Yaskawa Electric (6506 JT)
• Earnings Call / Streaming: NRI (4307 JT), Nidec (6594), Shin-Etsu Chemical (4063 JT), TDK (6762 JT), Hoya Corp (7741 JT), JSR (4185 JT), Sumitomo Chemical (4005 JT), Nitto Denko (6988 JT), Sekisui Chemical (4204 JT), Zeon Corp (4205 JT), Fanuc (6954 JT), Fuji Electric (6504 JT), Komatsu (6301 JT), HCM (6305 JT)