Japanese Listed Companies Expected to Set Record-High Dividend Payouts for Fifth Consecutive Year

It has been reported that the total dividend payout by publicly listed companies in Japan is expected to reach a record high for the fifth consecutive year.

On July 11, Nikkei reported that, based on a tally of the expected dividend payouts for the 2025 fiscal year (April 2025 to March 2026) from approximately 2,300 listed companies with March fiscal year-ends, the total dividend amount is projected to reach 19.99 trillion yen (approximately 187 trillion won). This represents a 3% increase from the previous year and is expected to mark a record high for the fifth year in a row.

Japanese listed companies typically close their books in March.

Nikkei explained that since individuals hold about 20% of the shares of listed companies, the amount of dividends that these companies will pay to households before taxes is expected to reach approximately 3.5 trillion yen (about 32.8 trillion won). The newspaper added that this could be expected to support household consumption through dividend income.

As the background for the increase in dividends, Nikkei cited the emphasis on capital efficiency reforms by securities authorities, including management practices that are conscious of capital costs and stock prices.

In fact, among the companies surveyed, about 250 are planning to increase dividends in the 2025 fiscal year, even though they are expecting a decline in profits.

For example, Nikkei reported that Toyota Motor expects its consolidated net profit to decrease by 35%, but still plans to increase its dividend per share by more than 5%.