Choruko's investment journey began in 2011. As a university student, she used 2,4 million JPY (approximately 16,000 USD) given by her father to buy stocks. For seven years, she paid little attention to this investment. In 2018, when her husband quit his job due to work-related stress, she reviewed their family finances. She discovered her old stock had soared to nearly 16 million JPY (approximately 105,000 USD). "That's when I truly felt the power of the stock market," Choruko stated.

At that time, she was pregnant and preparing for maternity leave, while Japan's consumption tax was set to increase. She began studying technical investment analysis.

During her first maternity leave, Choruko traded full-time. Anticipating a recovery in the semiconductor market after the US-China trade war, she invested all her capital and used margin trading for day trading. While holding her baby, she monitored charts on her phone to place orders. In some months, she executed over 1,000 trades, boosting her assets to 50 million JPY (approximately 333,000 USD) within six months.

By 1/2021, her short-term trading was generating approximately 500,000 JPY in daily profits. Her assets surpassed the 100 million JPY mark, allowing her to join the "Okuribito" group – individuals in Japan with assets exceeding 100 million JPY. "At that time, I developed an illusion of competence, which later led to failure," she recounted.

Choruko, nearly 40 years old, in Tokyo, is well-known in Japan's stock trading circles. *Photo: Friday*

Shifting her focus to small-cap technology stocks, she invested heavily in a company whose shares had fallen 34% from their peak, hoping positive financial reports would drive prices up. However, the stock continued to plummet, wiping out 24 million JPY in one day. Her assets dropped to 68 million JPY by 7/2021. This shock left Choruko devastated, realizing she had acted like a gambler. She liquidated her entire portfolio and paused trading.

A few weeks later, upon hearing that a large conglomerate was preparing to pay a 10% dividend, she decided to re-enter the market with her capital. The rising stock price increased her assets to 88 million JPY. Anticipating a sharp decline after the ex-dividend date, she sold her holdings to protect her capital.

When her maternity leave concluded, limited time forced Choruko to abandon day trading. She adopted a strategy of holding cash and waiting for opportunities, targeting industry-leading companies, buying during market sell-offs, and taking profit when prices recovered.

On one occasion, she earned 500,000 JPY in a single day by purchasing a major stock during the market downturn caused by the Russia-Ukraine conflict in 2022. In early 2026, geopolitical tensions caused her 510 million JPY in assets to decrease by 90 million JPY. Waiting for a moment of market panic, she bought a large quantity of shares in a manufacturing conglomerate and successfully took profit.

To manage her time, Choruko quit her job as a pharmaceutical representative and opened her own company specializing in public relations (PR) and real estate. She hired a former colleague as a remote assistant to manage her schedule and emails, and employed a house cleaning service, allowing her to dedicate most of her time to reading financial reports.

Choruko's story is not unique. The group of Japanese housewives known as "Mrs. Watanabe" are actively entering the financial market, especially after the government reformed the tax-exempt NISA investment program in early 2024, leading to 5 million new accounts.

Having once lost 24 million JPY in a single day and having previously exited the market, Choruko's 14-year journey demonstrates that there are no shortcuts in investing; only continuous trial and error, adjustment, and restarting.

By Bao Nhien (Based on Friday and Diamond magazines)