About Us

15 years as a securities analyst at Daiwa Institute of Research. 7.5 years as an analyst in the Investment Banking Division of Nomura Securities.

Coverage Sectors/Areas of Expertise
Koichiro Saito has worked for many years as an analyst for the housing, construction, real estate, chemical, electronic materials, and cosmetics sectors. He has experience working for a Japanese electronic materials company.

Achievements
Ranked second in the analyst rankings of the Nikkei Financial Daily and The Economist. Saito’s analysis report on brand value assessment was also published in the Analyst Journal, and he also wrote a book edited by a professor from the Research Center for Financial Engineering of the Kyoto Institute of Economic Research at Kyoto University. After working as an analyst at an investment bank, Saito spent 10 years in business operations at a Japanese electronic materials company, including management planning, R&D planning, and new business launch and development.

Comment
I bring a broad perspective to research, analysis, and strategic proposals, drawing from my experience as a sell-side analyst and my background in investment banking. In particular, I have worked on business planning, as well as on launching and developing new businesses as an analyst, playing a central role in alliance proposals within a corporate environment.

Norio Shiina has 13 years of buy-side investment and research experience, and more than 10 years of research on companies and industries as a third party. MUFG, FIL Investments (Japan), etc.

Coverage Sectors/Areas of Expertise
Shiina covers both manufacturing and non-manufacturing industries for all company sizes. His experience as an analyst focuses mainly on healthcare, telecommunications/internet, finance, and all small- and mid-cap stocks.

Comment
I endeavor to maintain a long-term investment perspective and organize the drivers of corporate value for each company.

In addition to more than 20 years of experience as an analyst in the research departments of major global investment banks such as UBS Securities, JP Morgan Securities, and Citigroup Inc., Masami Fujino also worked as a buy-side analyst for a major hedge fund. Since 2015, she has been working for a major IR company handling work such as preparing roadshow materials for IPO companies, equity stories for listed companies, mid-term management plans, and financial results presentation materials. She conducted a public information survey on the status of sustainability, ESG strategies, and information disclosure of overseas companies outside Japan as part of a project by the Japan’s Cabinet Office from October 2021 to March 2022, and verified examples of favorable disclosures. Fujino also engaged in interview activities with overseas companies, ESG research firms, and overseas institutional investors regarding ESG strategies and disclosures.

Coverage Sectors/Areas of Expertise
Sectors include manufacturing industry and small- to medium-cap stocks, emerging companies.

Achievements
Consistently ranked in Institutional Investor Magazine and The Nikkei Veritas (electronics, communications sector).

Comment
With the increasing number of requirements from the TSE, including in non-financial areas, capital policy, etc, I will provide advice based on the situation and strengths of each company on how they can be connected to form an overall growth story and be recognized as an attractive investment destination from the perspective of institutional investors. Although an increasing number of companies have been publishing integrated reports for several years, I feel that is unfortunate to recognize cases where institutional investors, especially foreign investors, cannot understand the message well when they read the report because these companies do not understand the basic principles of ESG and the thoughts and expectations of institutional investors. Improving growth stories and disclosure materials from this perspective will make them more compelling and lead to more active discussions in meetings with investors.

Bringing 35 years as a sell-side analyst to the table, Toshiya Mizutani was most recently part of Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley Securities.

Coverage Sectors/Areas of Expertise
Mizutani’s coverage focuses on the construction industry, but he also has experience in housing and real estate. Was specialized in capturing changes in industry trends based on macro statistics.

Achievements
First place in analyst rankings for the Japan Construction Sector in US financial magazine Institutional Investor Magazine 11 times (2007-2017), and first place in analyst rankings for the Construction Sector in The Nikkei Veritas 10 times (2006-2011, 2013-2016).

Comment
There is a growing view that corporate value is evaluated in terms of six types of capital: financial capital, manufacturing capital (plants, machinery, and land), regional capital, human capital, social capital, and natural capital. In response to the demands of the times, I am dedicated to engaging in research activities while keeping in mind the increasingly diverse approaches to corporate evaluation.

Active as a senior analyst at Global IR, Inc. now, Hiroshi Yoshihara has engaged in research report & consulting works at major sponsored research companies since 2017.
He has 20 years of experience as a managing director and sell-side analyst at US investment banks (Salomon Brothers Securities Asia, Merrill Lynch Japan Securities Company, Limited, Morgan Stanley Japan Limited).
Yoshihara also has 9 years of experience as a technology planning analyst at the Product Development Laboratory of IBM Japan, Ltd.

Coverage Sectors/Areas of Expertise
Covers all industries with a focus on the high-tech industry and provides fundamental research analysis of industry, technology trends, and companies.

Achievements
Ranked highly in financial magazines such as the US financial magazine Institutional Investor, including 4 consecutive years at the top (1997-2000) (precision equipment, semiconductor manufacturing equipment, industrial electronics sector)

Comment
As a sponsored research analyst, I have conducted numerous interviews and analyses of companies ranging from startups to major corporations (I have written and published 49 companies’ reports across all industries over the past seven years since 2017). I am also involved in public interest activities, such as serving as a permanent director of the Waseda Hoshien Public interest incorporated foundation. I have also been involved in policy proposals, regional development, and planning and development of renewable energy-related projects at think tanks.
I am originally from Fukuoka Prefecture and graduated from the Department of Physics, School of Science and Engineering at Waseda University.

Research Analyst at Deutsche Securities after working at Daiwa Securities, and engages in investment banking. More than 10 years of experience as a research analyst.

Coverage Sectors/Areas of Expertise
Chemical sector, mid-cap stock, and innovative startups.

Achievements
Ranked 1st place in Global Research, 2nd place in Institutional Investor Magazine, and 3rd place in NIKKEI Financial Magazine.

Comment
I believe that if we can add fair value to companies for the markets, we can achieve win-win situations for a growing number of stakeholders toward a bright, abundant future.