For the 16 years from 1980 to 1995, small stocks have slightly outperformed larger caps in the Japanese market, and small-cap value stocks have been the overall standout, according to information extrapolated from the Russell/NRI Japan Equity Indexes.
Data also show Japanese value stocks have far outperformed Japanese growth stocks on a cumulative basis. For the 16 years through 1995, large-cap value stocks posted a compound annual 12% return, compared with 4.9% for large-cap growth stocks. Small-cap value stocks produced a compound annual 12.4% return over the same period, vs. 5.4% for small-cap growth stocks.