Guide to Japan's Short Selling Disclosures
What the short position reports on this site are, and how to read them.
- 1. The short position reporting system
- 2. Calculation date and disclosure date
- 3. Terms
- 4. How to use each page
- 5. How estimated short interest is calculated
- 6. Notes on use
1. The short position reporting system
Under Japan's Financial Instruments and Exchange Act, investors whose short position in a stock exceeds a certain size must report that position. The main rules are:
- When a short position reaches 0.2% or more of shares outstanding, the holder must report it to the exchange through a securities firm.
- Reports of 0.5% or more are published by the exchange together with the holder's name and position size.
- After a position has been published at 0.5% or more, a drop below 0.5% is also published (shown on this site as "Below 0.5%").
This site imports the short position disclosures published by the Japan Exchange Group (JPX) every day and organizes them by stock and by institution. Because only large positions of 0.5% or more are published, the data shows what large investors are doing, not the total amount of short selling in the market.
2. Calculation date and disclosure date
Each report has two dates.
- Calculation date (trade date): the date on which the position was measured, i.e. when the position actually changed. The "Trade date" column on this site shows this date.
- Disclosure date: the date on which the exchange published the report, usually one business day or more after the calculation date.
The "Import date" on this site is the day we retrieved the file published by JPX. List pages can be switched by import date.
3. Terms
Position (shares)
The number of shares the holder is short.
Ratio
The short position as a percentage of shares outstanding. Positions above 0.5% are published with the holder's name.
Change
The change in ratio from the same holder's previous report. ▲ (green) means the short position increased, ▼ (red) means it decreased.
New disclosure
A position that has reached 0.5% or more for which there was no previous report, or whose previous ratio was below 0.5%.
Below 0.5%
A report showing that the ratio has fallen below 0.5% and is no longer subject to public disclosure. It does not necessarily mean the position was closed; a position below 0.5% may remain. A ratio of 0% is shown as "Closed".
Short seller (institution)
The holder of the short position. Besides securities firms trading for their own account, asset managers and hedge funds sometimes report through a securities firm.
4. How to use each page
- Latest: every report published in the latest import. Use the tabs to filter by new disclosures, below 0.5%, increases and decreases.
- Rankings: the top 50 stocks by estimated short interest, number of short sellers, and the latest increases and decreases.
- Short sellers: the number of stocks and total shares held by each institution. Click a name to see its positions and disclosure history.
- Stock pages: a short interest chart by institution, current positions by short seller, full disclosure history, company details and related stocks in the same sector.
5. How estimated short interest is calculated
"Estimated short interest" on stock pages and in the rankings is calculated by this site. The published data shows each holder's position, not the total for a stock, so we estimate the total as follows:
- Treat each holder's latest report (ratio and shares) as its current position.
- Add up the current positions of every holder that has reported on the stock.
- For reports below 0.5%, use the reported value as is.
As a result, old positions of holders who have stopped reporting remain in the total, and positions below 0.5% are not reflected. Please use the figure as an indication of the trend.
6. Notes on use
- This site organizes and publishes public information. It does not solicit or provide advice on any investment.
- The import or aggregation of data may contain errors. Please check the original JPX data before making important decisions.
- Source: Japan Exchange Group, "Information on Outstanding Short Selling Positions"
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