Broker websites and IPO application screens are in Japanese. These are the 53 words that decide whether you can finish an application, with what each one actually means for you rather than a dictionary definition.
- Account for under-18s未成年口座 (miseinen koza)
- Some brokers let minors enter the lottery, which multiplies a family's entries.
- Book buildingブックビルディング (book building)
- The application window. You state how many shares you want; miss this and you are out for that listing.
- Delegated underwriter委託幹事 (itaku kanji)
- A broker added to the syndicate later, often unannounced at approval, so fewer people apply.
- Down roundダウンラウンド (downround)
- Listing at a valuation below what earlier private investors paid.
- Estimated price想定価格 (soutei kakaku)
- A provisional price published before the indicative range, used to gauge the funds you will need.
- First traded price初値 (hatsune)
- The first price set on the listing day. The number that decides whether your allocation made money.
- Fractional shares単元未満株 (tangen miman kabu)
- Buying fewer than 100 shares, available at some brokers. Not applicable to IPO applications.
- Fully equal lottery完全平等抽選 (kanzen byoudou chuusen)
- One ticket per applicant regardless of money or history. The best structure if your balance is small.
- Funds locked資金拘束 (shikin kousoku)
- Money held and unusable while an application is live. Determines how many applications you can run at once.
- IPOIPO（新規公開株） (ipo)
- A company listing on the exchange for the first time, and the shares offered when it does.
- IPO Challenge PointsIPOチャレンジポイント (ipo challenge point)
- SBI Securities scheme where each loss earns a point, spendable later in a points-ranked pool.
- IPOs in a NISA accountNISAでIPO (nisa ipo)
- Holding IPO shares in the tax-free NISA scheme, so any gain is untaxed.
- Indicative price range仮条件 (kari jouken)
- The price range announced before the offer price is fixed. This is when you learn what you will need.
- Investment corporation (J-REIT / infrastructure fund IPO)投資法人 (toushi houjin)
- If the name ends in 'investment corporation', it is a REIT or infrastructure fund, not company shares. You apply in units of 1, not 100, and the price moves with the property market rather than the company's growth. This site does not cover them.
- Late-type lottery後期型抽選 (kouki gata chuusen)
- The draw runs after the purchase step, so you can decide after seeing results elsewhere.
- Lead underwriter主幹事証券 (shukanji shouken)
- Takes roughly 70 to 80 per cent of the shares, so your odds are far better here than at other underwriters.
- Limit up and limit downストップ高・ストップ安 (stop daka)
- Daily caps on how far a price may move. A hot listing can fail to open at all on day one.
- Listing上場 (joujou)
- The company shares become tradable on the exchange.
- Listing approval上場承認 (joujou shounin)
- The day the exchange approves the listing and the schedule becomes public. Applications close about a week later.
- Lock-upロックアップ (lock up)
- A period during which existing shareholders may not sell. When it ends, supply can increase sharply.
- Lottery抽選 (chuusen)
- How allocations are decided, because demand almost always exceeds supply.
- Market and limit orders成行・指値 (naruyuki sashine)
- A market order takes any price; a limit order sets your maximum or minimum.
- Market capitalisation時価総額 (jikasougaku)
- Share price times shares outstanding. The market value of the whole company.
- Market sections市場区分 (shijou kubun)
- The Tokyo exchange divides into Prime, Standard and Growth by company size and requirements.
- Money-weighted lottery資金比例抽選 (shikin hirei chuusen)
- Tickets increase with the number of shares you applied for. Favours larger balances.
- New shares and sale shares公募・売出 (koubo uridashi)
- New shares raise money for the company; sale shares transfer existing holdings to the market.
- Offer price公開価格 (koukai kakaku)
- One fixed price for everyone, set before listing. This is what you pay if allocated.
- Offering ratioオファリングレシオ (offering ratio)
- The share of the company being sold at listing. A high ratio means more stock hitting the market.
- Offering size吸収金額 (kyuushuu kingaku)
- The total value of shares being sold. Larger offerings need more demand to rise.
- Opening below the offer price公開価格割れ (koubo ware)
- The shares open lower than you paid. You are at a loss from the first second of trading.
- Opening price forecast初値予想 (hatsune yosou)
- An estimate of where the shares will first trade. An estimate only.
- Over-allotmentオーバーアロットメント (over allotment)
- An extra tranche the lead underwriter may sell to meet demand, which increases total supply.
- Percentage change騰落率 (touraku ritsu)
- How far the first traded price sits above or below the offer price.
- Professional investors market (TOKYO PRO Market)プロ投資家向け市場 (pro market)
- TOKYO PRO Market (Tokyo) and Fukuoka PRO Market are open only to professional (specified) investors, so ordinary individuals cannot trade these shares and there is no lottery to apply for. Many such listings have no public offering at all. Companies often use them as a stepping stone, and when they later move up to a regular market that listing is a normal IPO you can apply for. This site does not cover PRO Market listings.
- Prospectus目論見書 (mokuromisho)
- The offering document. You must confirm you have viewed it before applying.
- Quote management気配運用 (kehai un you)
- Exchange rules that step the indicative price toward a level where buyers and sellers match. Why a hot listing can take hours to open.
- Reserve place and promotion補欠当選・繰上当選 (hoketsu kuriage)
- You get shares only if a winner declines. Some brokers still require you to confirm interest.
- Secondary tradingセカンダリー (secondary)
- Buying and selling after listing, as opposed to being allocated at the offer price.
- Selling at the open初値売り (hatsune uri)
- Selling on the listing day at the first traded price rather than holding.
- Settlement date受渡日 (ukewatashi bi)
- When money and shares actually change hands, a few business days after the trade.
- Shares outstanding発行済株式数 (hakkozumi kabushiki)
- The total shares in issue. Used with the price to work out market capitalisation.
- Simultaneous listings同時上場 (doji joujou)
- Several companies listing on the same day, which splits demand and tends to depress opening prices.
- Supply and demand需給 (jukyuu)
- The balance between buyers and sellers, which is what actually sets the opening price.
- TSE Growth market東証グロース市場 (growth market)
- The Tokyo exchange section for smaller, higher-growth companies. Most IPOs list here.
- Technical listing (holding company or merger listing)テクニカル上場 (technical joujou)
- A listing that comes from a holding-company switch, a merger or a share transfer. Existing shares are simply swapped for the new company's shares: there is no public offering, so nobody can apply for it and no opening price is set. On the JPX new-listing table these names carry an asterisk. This site does not cover them.
- Ticker code証券コード (shouken code)
- The four-digit number identifying a listed company in Japan.
- Tiered lotteryステージ制抽選 (stage chuusen)
- Tickets depend on your trading record or assets at that broker. Beginners start at the bottom.
- Trade executed約定 (yakujou)
- Your order has been matched and the trade is done.
- Trading under a borrowed name借名取引 (shakumei torihiki)
- Using someone else's account. Prohibited. Each family member must apply themselves, with their own money.
- Trading unit単元株 (tangen kabu)
- Japanese shares trade in units of 100, so applications are in multiples of 100 shares.
- Underwriter幹事証券 (kanji shouken)
- A broker distributing the shares. You can only apply through one that is underwriting the listing.
- Upfront deposit前受金 (maeukekin)
- Whether a broker requires the cash before you apply. The main constraint on how many applications you can run at once.
- Venture capitalベンチャーキャピタル(VC) (vc)
- Early investors in the company. Their holdings often come to market after the lock-up ends.
