[Japanese Stocks] The Osaka-Kansai Expo, which has been thriving for days, is bustling with various events such as sports and concerts, drawing attention to leisure-related stocks | Kazuyuki Suzuki explores the next trending stocks! | Moneyクリ Monex Securities' investment information and media useful for money.

Since the "Waka-Takeya Boom", the Grand Sumo has been continuously sold out.

This time, I will summarize leisure-related stocks.

The Grand Sumo Nagoya Tournament is bustling with excitement. Of course, attention is drawn to the new Yokozuna, Oosaki, who is aiming for his third consecutive championship, but it's also noteworthy that both Yokozunas, Toyoshoryu, who is in his third tournament since his promotion, are ranked side by side for the first time in four years. The venue has moved to the newly completed "IG Arena," giving it a fresh look. It is said that this is the first time in 40 years that the venue for the Grand Sumo Honbasho, which is held six times a year, has changed since the Ryogoku Kokugikan was completed in 1985.

Oosaki, who was promoted to Yokozuna in the fastest time in history after his 13th tournament since his debut, is still only 24 years old. In addition to the new Yokozuna, promising young wrestlers are rising to the ring one after another, and every match is a fiercely contested battle.

Customers are aware of the current momentum, and tickets for the Nagoya tournament sold out immediately after they were released. A "full house" for the 15 days is guaranteed. In 2024, all 90 days of the six tournaments will be "fully booked," and that situation is ongoing. It's been 28 years since all six tournaments have been "fully booked," which last happened in 1996 during the "Waka-Taka boom" across Japan.

The ingenuity and creativity of various entertainment organizations that endured the COVID-19 pandemic has borne fruit.

It's not just sumo wrestling that is attracting crowds. In professional baseball, large numbers of spectators gather for every match across both the Central and Pacific Leagues. Soccer J1, Rugby League One, Basketball B League, concert venues for artists, and movie theaters are also seeing large audiences.

Many people gather at various competitions and events, and there are numerous cases of significant commercial success.

The highlight is the Osaka-Kansai Expo. Although it was expected to face significant challenges before and around the opening, once it started, it turned out to be a great success every day, and by the halfway point of the event, the ticket sales target is expected to be nearly achieved. Myakumyaku's beaming smile stands out even more.

During the three years of the COVID-19 pandemic, music, various events, sports competitions, and entertainment organizations were forced into an unprecedentedly harsh situation. This applies not only to the management side but also to the fans. The bitter experiences and creative ideas from that time are now blooming all at once.

Events, distribution, and Expo-related... Picking up 4 stocks

Consumption is increasingly shifting from goods to experiences, and it is expected that the fan base attending concerts, competitions, and events will expand. Below are some leisure-related stocks.

Toho (9602)

A giant of the Kansai business world. Founded as the Tokyo Takarazuka Theatre for films and theater. Alongside Toei and Shochiku, it is called one of Japan's "Big Three" in film, with the highest sales among the three companies. It has two directly-managed theaters, the Imperial Theatre and Theatre Create, and is a core company of the Hankyu Hanshin Toho Group (the Imperial Theatre is temporarily closed for rebuilding, scheduled to reopen in 2030). It owns the globally recognized IP "Godzilla," and recently, films it screens have been hitting the box office. There is a wealth of popular titles such as "Detective Conan," "National Treasure," "Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba," and "Exit 8." There is a growing trend of preferring cool movie theaters during the heatwave. It reported gains from the sale of securities, increasing the full-year net profit in the first quarter financial results (from 37.5 billion to 43.5 billion yen).

[Chart 1] Toho (9602): Weekly Chart (Moving Average Lines Green: 13 weeks, Orange: 26 weeks) Source: Monex Securities website (as of July 24, 2025)

pia (4337)

A leading ticket sales company. It has a significant presence in the leisure and entertainment sectors, including concerts, sports, movies, theater, and events. In the fiscal year 2024, sales based on transaction volume reached 270 billion yen, marking the highest level ever. Due to accumulated losses from the COVID-19 pandemic, there were no dividends until the previous period, but in response to strong performance, the intention is to resume dividends for the first time in six periods this year, which is the final year of the medium-term management plan. The "Pia Arena MM," Japan's first large-scale privately built arena, is so popular that weekends are fully booked up to a year and a half in advance. A theater with a capacity of 800 people is also scheduled to open this year at "TOFROM YAESU TOWER," which is directly connected to Tokyo Station.

[Chart 2] PIA (4337): Weekly Chart (Moving Average Lines Green: 13 Weeks, Orange: 26 Weeks) Source: Monex Securities website (as of July 24, 2025)

ANYCOLOR (5032)

An entertainment startup company that operates the VTuber group "Nijisanji Project." "VTuber" is short for "Virtual YouTuber," referring to streamers who operate through 2D or 3D avatars on video distribution platforms like YouTube. Unlike real human beings who appear directly like entertainers or YouTubers, VTubers operate in a virtual world through characters. There is also active two-way communication via social media, and the scope of activities as talents is broad. Revenue sources include video distribution, event hosting, merchandise sales, and IP promotion. Merchandise sales play a significant role, making them a representative example of "oshi-katsu."

[Chart 3] ANYCOLOR (5032): Weekly Chart (Moving Average Line Green: 13 Weeks, Orange: 26 Weeks) Source: Monex Securities website (as of July 24, 2025)

Danshinsya (9743)

A comprehensive display company that handles the interior design of commercial facilities such as department stores and shopping malls. They excel in planning and designing spatial displays and also work on redevelopment buildings and cultural facilities. In the future, they aim to expand their business domain to hotels and offices. Based on their achievements in handling numerous displays for pavilions at the previous World Expo in Japan in 1970, they are also expanding their orders for the upcoming Osaka-Kansai Expo. The first quarter financial results for the period ending January 2025, announced in mid-June, showed a sales revenue of 33.9 billion yen (+49.5%) and an operating profit of 4.55 billion yen (+204.0%), indicating rapid expansion. They have already revised their full-year performance forecast upward, raising the operating profit from 6.0 billion to 7.5 billion yen (up 45.7% year-on-year), suggesting there is still room for growth.

[Chart 4] Danchosha (9743): Weekly Chart (Moving Average Lines Green: 13 weeks, Orange: 26 weeks) Source: Monex Securities website (as of July 24, 2025)