CC Japan Income & Growth Trust continues to publish daily net asset values, most recently on 30 October, with a September factsheet out on 15 October. Its last full report showed a 14.7% NAV total return for the half year to 30 April, against 7.7% for its benchmark.

What happened

CC Japan Income & Growth Trust (ticker: CCJI) is a constituent of the FTSE All-Share index and sits in the closed-end investments sector, focused on Japanese equities. There has been no company-specific news in recent days beyond routine NAV notices.

The September factsheet notice retrieved for this report contained only a link, so the most recent detailed figures come from the half-year report. In the six months to 30 April, the share price total return was 11.5%, behind the NAV return but ahead of the 7.7% for the TOPIX total return benchmark.

At that date, net Assets were £365.4m, NAV per share was 271.2p and the share price was 243.0p. The discount was 10.4%, although it had narrowed to 4.1% by the time the report was written, and averaged 7.4% over the period.

Income and gearing

The trust declared a first Interim Dividend of 1.75p, up 6.1% from 1.65p, with a payment date of 4 August. Revenue return per share rose 25% to 3.15p from 2.53p.

Net gearing was 19.3% at the end of April, held through contracts for difference with a notional value of £70.6m. Ongoing charges were 1.06%.

What drove returns

Fujikura, Anritsu and Pillar were among the leading contributors, helped by Demand related to artificial intelligence. Mitsubishi Corp and ARE Holdings benefited from Commodity exposure.

Detractors included Nippon Parking Development and Marui, which were affected by higher energy costs, and JAFCO and SBI Holdings, which faced a tougher market for new issues.

The manager reduced Fujikura and ARE Holdings, and added Anritsu, Megachips, Keyence, SMC, Daiichi Sankyo and Hochiki. Shoei, Nissan Chemical, Kao and Denso were sold.

At the period end, the largest holdings were Shin-Etsu Chemical at 5.3%, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group at 4.8%, and Tokyo Electron at 4.6%. Electrical appliances was the largest sector weight at 21.5%, followed by banks at 11.7%.

Why it matters for investors

Analysis: this trust is often assessed on income, yet the half-year figures show that much of its recent outperformance came from technology-linked names. Trimming Fujikura after it helped returns suggests some profit-taking, though electrical appliances remained the largest sector weight.

Gearing of 19.3% works in favour of returns in a rising market and against them in a falling one. That matters given that the board itself warned of potential short-term Volatility associated with conflict in the Middle East.

Discount moves were a material part of the Shareholder experience. The swing from 10.4% to 4.1% between April and the report date shows how much of a holder's return can be driven by sentiment rather than the portfolio. The board has said it "will consider buying back shares" to manage the discount, but none had been repurchased since the period end at the time of the report.

How the shares have performed

Current share price and discount figures could not be confirmed from the pages retrieved today, so the 243.0p price above is an as-at figure for 30 April 2026, not a current quote.

What to watch next

Year-end figures for the 12 months to 31 October should be next, following last year's results published in January. The trust's next interim dividend decision and any buyback activity will also be watched. A continuation vote takes place every three years, and the last was approved in March 2025.