UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

FORM N-Q

 

 

QUARTERLY SCHEDULE OF PORTFOLIO HOLDINGS OF REGISTERED

MANAGEMENT INVESTMENT COMPANY

 

Investment Company Act file number

811-06142

 

THE JAPAN EQUITY FUND, INC.

(Exact name of registrant as specified in charter)

c/o Daiwa Securities Trust Company
One Evertrust Plaza
Jersey City, New Jersey

07302

(Address of principal executive offices)

(Zip code)

John J. O’Keefe
The Japan Equity Fund, Inc.
c/o Daiwa Securities Trust Company
One Evertrust Plaza
Jersey City, New Jersey  07302

(Name and address of agent for service)

 

 

 

Registrant's telephone number, including area code:

(201) 915-3054

 

 

Date of fiscal year end:

October 31, 2005

 

 

Date of reporting period:

January 31, 2005

 

 



 

Item 1. Schedule of Investments. – The schedule of investments for the three-month period ended January 31, 2005 is filed herewith.

 

The Japan Equity Fund, Inc.

Portfolio of Investments

January 31, 2005 (unaudited)

 

COMMON STOCKS—98.08%

 

Shares

 

 

 

 

 

Value

 

Banks—10.03%

 

 

 

 

 

362

 

Mitsubishi Tokyo Financial Group Inc.

 

 

 

3,412,853

 

400

 

Mizuho Financial Group, Inc.

 

 

 

1,926,083

 

160,000

 

The Bank of Fukuoka, Ltd.

 

 

 

1,020,554

 

190,000

 

The Bank of Yokohama, Ltd.

 

 

 

1,197,240

 

300,000

 

The Sumitomo Trust & Banking Co., Ltd.

 

 

 

2,035,125

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

9,591,855

 

Chemicals—6.97%

 

 

 

 

 

13,000

 

Fuji Photo Film Co., Ltd.

 

 

 

466,660

 

54,000

 

Kao Corp.

 

 

 

1,255,814

 

102,000

 

Konica Minolta Holdings, Inc.

 

 

 

1,279,552

 

63,000

 

Shin-Etsu Chemical Co., Ltd.

 

 

 

2,492,521

 

42,000

 

Sumitomo Chemical Co., Ltd.

 

 

 

217,234

 

153,000

 

Tokuyama Corp.

 

 

 

952,282

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

6,664,063

 

Communication—5.03%

 

 

 

 

 

120

 

KDDI Corp.

 

 

 

612,564

 

330

 

NTT Corp.

 

 

 

1,391,585

 

1,080

 

NTT DoCoMo, Inc.

 

 

 

1,875,905

 

56,000

 

Tokyo Broadcasting System, Inc.

 

 

 

933,784

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

4,813,838

 

Construction—3.25%

 

 

 

 

 

29,000

 

Commuture Corp.

 

 

 

287,957

 

192,000

 

Maeda Corp.

 

 

 

1,024,568

 

156,000

 

Obayashi Corp.

 

 

 

998,051

 

160,000

 

Shimizu Corp.

 

 

 

793,593

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

3,104,169

 

Electric Appliances—12.98%

 

 

 

 

 

65,000

 

Anritsu Corp.

 

 

 

502,412

 

25,000

 

Canon Inc.

 

 

 

1,302,712

 

10,000

 

Hirose Electric Co., Ltd.

 

 

 

1,060,504

 

60,000

 

Hitachi Ltd.

 

 

 

398,340

 

2,300

 

Keyence Corp.

 

 

 

527,560

 

7,000

 

Mabuchi Motor Co., Ltd.

 

 

 

478,915

 

191,000

 

Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.

 

 

 

2,832,838

 

34,000

 

Neomax Co., Ltd.

 

 

 

666,023

 

10,000

 

Rohm Co., Ltd.

 

 

 

909,968

 

108,000

 

Sharp Corp.

 

 

 

1,653,923

 

50

 

Sumida Corp.

 

 

 

1,189

 

7,500

 

TDK Corp.

 

 

 

521,085

 

18,100

 

Tokyo Electron Ltd.

 

 

 

1,054,946

 

25,000

 

Ushio Inc.

 

 

 

507,816

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

12,418,231

 

Electric Power & Gas—3.55%

 

 

 

 

 

85,000

 

Tohoku Electric Power Co., Inc.

 

 

 

1,510,856

 

79,000

 

Tokyo Electric Power Co., Inc.

 

 

 

1,882,949

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

3,393,805

 

Electronics—0.09%

 

 

 

 

 

2,100

 

Elpida Memory, Inc.

*

 

 

81,666

 

 

1



 

Foods—1.45%

 

 

 

 

 

20,000

 

Asahi Breweries, Ltd.

 

 

 

249,542

 

88,000

 

Fuji Oil Co., Ltd.

 

 

 

1,137,894

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1,387,436

 

Glass & Ceramic Products—2.00%

 

 

 

 

 

96,000

 

NGK Spark Plug Co., Ltd.

 

 

 

968,986

 

218,000

 

Nippon Sheet Glass Co., Ltd.

 

 

 

942,430

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1,911,416

 

Insurance—2.51%

 

 

 

 

 

106,000

 

Aioi Insurance Co., Ltd.

 

 

 

484,840

 

192,000

 

Nissay Dowa General Insurance Co., Ltd.

 

 

 

976,397

 

20,000

 

T&D Holdings Inc.

 

 

 

937,952

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2,399,189

 

Iron & Steel—1.69%

 

 

 

 

 

664,000

 

Nippon Steel Corp.

 

 

 

1,614,668

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Land Transportation—3.02%

 

 

 

 

 

275

 

East Japan Railway Co.

 

 

 

1,483,403

 

220,000

 

Fukuyama Transporting Co., Ltd.

 

 

 

965,937

 

90,000

 

Nippon Express Co., Ltd.

 

 

 

440,317

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2,889,657

 

Machinery—4.82%

 

 

 

 

 

11,000

 

Disco Corp.

 

 

 

511,628

 

70,000

 

Komatsu Ltd.

 

 

 

519,444

 

51,400

 

Miura Co., Ltd.

 

 

 

971,655

 

21,000

 

Shinkawa Ltd.

 

 

 

416,433

 

15,000

 

SMC Corp.

 

 

 

1,751,423

 

45,000

 

Toyoda Machine Works, Ltd.

 

 

 

437,277

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

4,607,860

 

Marine Transportation—1.28%

 

 

 

 

 

220,000

 

Nippon Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha

 

 

 

1,220,689

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Non-Ferrous Metals—2.61%

 

 

 

 

 

60,000

 

Mitsui Mining & Smelting Co., Ltd.

 

 

 

282,544

 

162,000

 

Sumitomo Electric Industries, Ltd.

 

 

 

1,769,603

 

65,000

 

Sumitomo Metal Mining Co., Ltd.

 

 

 

446,589

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2,498,736

 

Other Financing Business—2.75%

 

 

 

 

 

53,000

 

Hitachi Capital Corp.

 

 

 

1,043,327

 

12,000

 

Orix Corp.

 

 

 

1,585,255

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2,628,582

 

Other Products—2.16%

 

 

 

 

 

48,300

 

Bandai Co., Ltd.

 

 

 

1,039,361

 

9,100

 

Nintendo Co., Ltd.

 

 

 

1,030,918

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2,070,279

 

Pharmaceutical—3.78%

 

 

 

 

 

33,300

 

Eisai Co., Ltd.

 

 

 

1,079,687

 

32,000

 

Takeda Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd.

 

 

 

1,519,251

 

28,000

 

Yamanouchi Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd.

 

 

 

1,018,624

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

3,617,562

 

Precision Instruments—2.42%

 

 

 

 

 

11,300

 

Hoya Corp.

 

 

 

1,163,476

 

40,000

 

Terumo Corp.

 

 

 

1,156,036

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2,319,512

 

Pulp & Paper—0.73%

 

 

 

 

 

162

 

Nippon Paper Group Inc.

 

 

 

698,775

 

 

2



 

Real Estate—1.04%

 

 

 

 

 

80,000

 

Mitsui Fudosan Co., Ltd.

 

 

 

994,307

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Retail Trade—6.13%

 

 

 

 

 

13,300

 

Fast Retailing Co., Ltd.

 

 

 

904,806

 

55,000

 

Isetan Co., Ltd.

 

 

 

652,273

 

12,000

 

Ito-Yokado Co., Ltd.

 

 

 

480,556

 

45,000

 

Marui Co., Ltd.

 

 

 

600,550

 

37,000

 

Seven-Eleven Japan Co., Ltd.

 

 

 

1,121,104

 

12,500

 

Shimamura Co., Ltd.

 

 

 

902,248

 

34,000

 

Sundrug Co., Ltd.

 

 

 

1,197,530

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

5,859,067

 

Rubber Products—1.59%

 

 

 

 

 

24,000

 

Bridgestone Corp.

 

 

 

471,292

 

270,000

 

Yokahama Rubber Co., Ltd.

 

 

 

1,052,591

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1,523,883

 

Securities—1.74%

 

 

 

 

 

127,000

 

Nomura Holdings Inc.

 

 

 

1,667,924

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Services—0.94%

 

 

 

 

 

16,000

 

Hitachi Software Engineering Co., Ltd.

 

 

 

307,556

 

6,000

 

Nomura Research Institute, Ltd.

 

 

 

593,458

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

901,014

 

Textile & Apparel—0.11%

 

 

 

 

 

25,000

 

Teijin Ltd.

 

 

 

103,493

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Transportation Equipment—10.59%

 

 

 

 

 

20,000

 

Aisin Seiki Co., Ltd.

 

 

 

472,836

 

36,000

 

Denso Corp.

 

 

 

934,478

 

55,000

 

Honda Motor Co., Ltd.

 

 

 

2,881,887

 

22,000

 

NOK Corp.

 

 

 

630,512

 

134,000

 

Toyota Motor Corp.

 

 

 

5,211,039

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

10,130,752

 

Wholesale Trade—2.82%

 

 

 

 

 

332

 

Net One Systems Co., Ltd.

 

 

 

1,303,908

 

4,600

 

Right On Co., Ltd.

 

 

 

171,340

 

143,000

 

Sumitomo Corp.

 

 

 

1,225,359

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2,700,607

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Total Common Stocks (Cost—$84,485,608)

 

 

 

93,813,035

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

SHORT-TERM INVESTMENTS—0.06%

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Principal
Amount
(000)

 

 

 

 

 

Value

 

U.S. DOLLAR TIME DEPOSIT—0.06%

 

 

 

 

 

59

 

Bank of New York Time Deposit, 0.05%, due 2/1/05
(Cost—$58,955)

 

 

 

58,955

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Total Investments—98.14%
(Cost—$84,544,562)

 

 

 

93,871,990

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Other assets less liabilities—1.86%

 

 

 

1,778,657

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

NET ASSETS

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(Applicable to 14,420,917 shares of capital stock outstanding; equivalent to $6.63 per share)

 

100.00

%

$

95,650,647

 

 

3



 


*    Non-income producing securities.

 

4



 

Item 2. Controls and Procedures.

 

a)              The Registrant’s Principal Executive Officer and Principal Financial Officer concluded that the Registrant’s disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Rule 30a-3(c) under the Investment Company Act of 1940) were effective as of a date within 90 days prior to the filing date of this report (the “Evaluation Date”), based on their evaluation of the effectiveness of the Registrant’s disclosure controls and procedures as of the Evaluation Date.

 

b)             There were no changes in the Registrant’s internal control over financial reporting (as defined in Rule 30a-3(d) under the 1940 Act (17 CFR 270.30a-3(d)) that occurred during the Registrant’s last fiscal quarter that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, the Registrant’s internal control over financial reporting.

 

Item 3. Exhibits.

 

(a)          Certification of Principal Executive Officer and Principal Financial Officer of the Registrant as required by Rule 30-a-2(a) under the Investment Company Act of 1940 (17 CFR 270.30a-2(a)) is attached hereto as Exhibit 99.302CERT.

 



 

SIGNATURES

 

 

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and the Investment Company Act of 1940, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.

 

The Japan Equity Fund, Inc.

 

By

\s\John J. O’Keefe

 

John J. O’Keefe, Vice President & Treasurer

 

Date: March 3, 2005

 

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and the Investment Company Act of 1940, this report has been signed below by the following persons on behalf of the registrant and in the capacities and on the dates indicated.

 

By

\s\John J. O’Keefe

 

Date: March 3, 2005

John J. O’Keefe, Vice President & Treasurer

 

 

 

\s\ Hiroshi Kimura

 

Date: March 3, 2005

Hiroshi Kimura, Chairman