Baillie Gifford Japan Trust reported a 17.7% NAV total return for the year to 31 August 2026 in results published on 28 October, behind the TOPIX's 26.7%. Its shares stood about 10.9% below NAV on AJ Bell's latest data, despite £116.9m of Buybacks during the year.

What happened

The trust (LSE:BGFD), a constituent of the FTSE All-Share index in the Investment trust sector, published annual results on 28 October. According to an AI-generated summary on, the share price total return was 20.9%, ahead of the NAV return but still short of the 26.7% sterling return from the TOPIX. The full announcement text was not available on the page retrieved, so those figures should be checked against the annual report.

The summary said the discount narrowed over the year to 9.1%. A final Dividend of 10p per share was proposed. The ex-dividend and payment dates did not appear in the material retrieved.

Murata, Sumitomo Metal Mining, SoftBank Group and Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group were named as leading contributors. The managers pointed to continued opportunities in AI-related companies and to an undervalued yen, according to the same summary.

Why it matters for investors

Buybacks were the main feature of the year's Capital management. The trust repurchased 12,666,500 shares for £116.9m, and the summary put the resulting NAV accretion for continuing holders at 1.7%. Transaction in Own Shares notices dated 23, 28, 29 and 30 October point to continued activity since the results period, and earlier ticker.app data recorded them as buybacks.

Ticker.app data at 30 October listed 94,328,209 shares in issue, with 31,343,269 of them in treasury. That left 62,984,940 voting shares, so the voting base is now far smaller than the issued total.

A further safeguard sits behind those purchases. The summary described a conditional tender offer for up to 25% of the shares if the three-year NAV total return fails to exceed that of the TOPIX. It would be carried out at a 2% discount to formula asset value. With NAV behind the index in the latest year, the three-year comparison is a figure for holders to follow, although the current three-year number was not in the material retrieved.

How the shares have performed

AJ Bell's delayed page, retrieved on 3 November, showed a sell price of 1,040p and a buy price of 1,044p, up 4p or 0.39% from a previous close of 1,036p. The most recent trade listed was dated 2 November. Its 52-week range ran from 811.10p to 1,114p, and Market Capitalisation was £658.16m.

The same page gave a latest NAV of 1,162.24p at 30 October and a discount of 10.86%, wider than its 12-month average of 9.66%. The trust's own notice for 29 October gave NAV per share of 1,157.72p with Debt at Fair Value and income included, or 1,149.94p with debt at par.

The discount therefore appears wider now than the 9.1% given for the year end, even with the buying. AJ Bell showed a Dividend Yield of 0.88%, so capital movements have dominated returns for holders.

What to watch next

The AGM is the next formal step, with the final dividend subject to the usual Shareholder approval. Its date was not in the material retrieved, and the Annual Report is the place to confirm it along with holdings, gearing and charges.

Daily NAV notices and own-share announcements will show whether continued repurchases keep the discount near its 12-month average. Yen movements also matter for sterling holders, given the managers' stated view on the currency.