Tokyo Stock Exchange

The Tokyo Stock Exchange (TSE) has been operating since 1878, and today it is the world’s second-largest capital market after the New York Stock Exchange. The two main indices of the TSE are the benchmark Nikkei (an index of 225 companies selected by the Nihon Keizai Shimbun, Japan’s leading economic daily) and the broader TOPIX index, which covers all 1600 companies on the TSE’s prestigious 1st Section. Though the Tokyo Stock Exchange no longer echoes with the flurry of unbridled activity (the trading floor closed in 1999, and now all trading is by computer), a visit is a good introduction to the world of capitalism. You can walk through the visitors galleries on your own with an English-language audio guide, or inquire about the daily 40-minute guided English-language tour, with video presentation (reservations required).