Kumio Tomonaga JPMorgan

second team Kazunori Tsuda Daiwa Institute

third team Taketo Yamate UBS

runners-up Sho Kawano Goldman Sachs; Masafumi Shoda Nomura; Toshio Takahashi Mizuho

Kumio Tomonaga, who held the No. 2 spot in Retailing last year after five straight years on top, is No. 1 in this new sector. Investors praise the JPMorgan Securities Japan analyst’s “deep insights” and “consistently high performance.” Tomonaga, 45, initiated coverage of Arcs Co. in January 2008 with a buy, at ¥1,223, citing the supermarket chain’s impressive growth strategy. Through February 2009 the stock price rose 15.7 percent, to ¥1,415, and was ahead of the sector by an incredible 50.0 percentage points. Unranked last year, Kazunori Tsuda of Daiwa Institute of Research claims second-­place honors. Tsuda down­graded hyper­market operator Izumi Co. to sell in October, at ¥1,291, on earnings pressure. The stock tumbled 20.3 percent, to ¥1,029, through February. Last year’s No. 3 Retailing analyst, Taketo Yamate of UBS, is No. 3 in both Retailing sectors this year. Yamate, applauded by one client for his “meticulously detailed analyses,” urged investors to sell appliance retailer Yamada Denki Co. in February 2008, at ¥9,130, on falling demand. The stock had plummeted 60.6 percent by late February 2009, to ¥3,600.

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2009 All-Japan Research Team Rankings