The Tokyo Stock Exchange held a "Dainoukai" to conclude the year's trading.
The closing price of this year's Nikkei stock average fell below the previous year's for the first time in four years, and Prime Minister Kishida and securities officials who attended hoped for a rise in stock prices next year.
Prime Minister Kishida attended this year's Dainoukai for the first time in nine years as a prime minister, saying, "Next year will be the first year of the Asset Income Double Plan, and we will boldly and radically advance the shift from savings to investment. Let's work together as a public and private sector to boost individual securities investment."
Koki Mitani, who was in charge of the script for NHK's historical drama "Kamakura-dono no 13-nin", said, "I feel that the Kamakura period is very similar to the present day in the sense that the future is unpredictable. One inch ahead is darkness. In this world, take three steps forward and two steps back, let's move forward one step at a time."
After the greetings, Prime Minister Kishida and Mr. Mitani rang the bell of the stock exchange five times to pray for a rise in stock prices next year.
Finally, all the participants did the customary ``hand tightening'' to conclude the one-year deal.
This year's Tokyo stock market was shaken by Russia's invasion of Ukraine and monetary policies in the United States and other countries to curb record inflation, and the Nikkei Stock Average closed this year for the first time in four years. below the closing price of