Learn
The developer's guide to Japanese equity data
Key points
- check_circleJapanese companies disclose results twice: a same-day earnings summary on TDnet, then an audited annual securities report on EDINET about three months later.
- check_circleMost companies close their books on March 31, quarterly figures are cumulative, and every listed stock has a four-character securities code such as 7203.
- check_circleZENITH Code exposes this data as 87 REST endpoints and 72 MCP tools, with English field names and bilingual labels.
Information as of 2026-10-20.
What's available
Japanese listed-company data falls into a handful of families. Here is how they map to the 87 ZENITH Code endpoints, grouped by category.
Tokyo Stock Exchange basics
Nearly all Japanese listed companies trade on the Tokyo Stock Exchange (TSE). A few conventions shape every dataset you will touch.
- check_circleEach listed security has a securities code assigned by the TSE: four digits (7203 is Toyota Motor), or, for companies listed since 2024, three digits plus a letter such as 130A.
- check_circleThe TSE groups companies into 33 industry sectors. These sector codes are Japan-specific and do not line up with GICS.
- check_circleMarket segment (Prime, Standard or Growth) is a separate dimension from sector.
- check_circleShares trade in lots of 100, but share counts in data are always reported in shares, not lots.
- check_circleETFs and REITs use the same code scheme as stocks, so check the asset type before mixing them into equity analysis.
TDnet vs EDINET: two disclosure systems
Japan has two official channels for company disclosures, and the same fiscal period usually appears in both. Knowing which one a number came from is the single most useful thing to understand.
| Aspect | TDnet (run by the TSE) | EDINET (run by the FSA) |
|---|---|---|
| Main document | Kessan tanshin (earnings summary) and other timely disclosures | Yuka shoken hokokusho (annual securities report), large shareholding reports, extraordinary reports |
| Timing | The announcement day. ZENITH Code reflects TDnet data daily by 16:30 JST. | About three months after the fiscal year ends. ZENITH Code reflects EDINET data daily by 19:00 JST. |
| Audit | Unaudited; figures can be revised later | Audited statutory filing |
| Depth | Headline statements, guidance and dividend forecasts | Every line item and note, segments, workforce, shareholders, directors, risk factors |
| Redistribution | The documents themselves are exchange data and can't be passed on; figures extracted from them can be, on the right plan | Data built from filings may be displayed on the right plan, with an EDINET credit |
ZENITH Code returns the earnings-summary figures first and replaces them with the audited figures once the annual report is filed. Every financial statement carries a provenance object (source, docId, announcedAt, sourceUrl), so you can always trace a value back to its document.
Fiscal years and quarters
Japanese fiscal calendars trip up most first-time users. These are the rules that matter.
- check_circleMost companies' fiscal years end on March 31. December year-ends (common among IFRS adopters and foreign-affiliated companies) and February year-ends (retail) are also common.
- check_circleIn Japan, a year is named by when it ends: the fiscal year ended March 2026 runs from April 2025 to March 2026. ZENITH Code also labels by the end: fiscalPeriod is 2026-03 and period is FY. On quarterly rows, fiscalPeriod is the quarter-end month, so 2026-06 with Q1 is Q1 of the fiscal year ending March 2027.
- check_circleQuarterly results are cumulative from the start of the fiscal year: Q3 covers nine months. Subtract the previous cumulative figure to get a single quarter.
- check_circleSince 2024, statutory quarterly reports for Q1 and Q3 have been abolished; those quarters now come only from the TDnet earnings summary.
- check_circleMarch year-end companies cluster their results in mid-May and file annual reports in late June.
Codes and identifiers
You will meet three identifiers. The securities code is the one to use for almost everything.
| Identifier | Format | Where it is used |
|---|---|---|
| Securities code | 4 characters, e.g. 7203 or 130A. A trailing .T (as in 7203.T) is accepted and stripped. | The symbol argument on every company endpoint |
| EDINET code | E followed by five digits, e.g. E02144 | Identifies the filer on EDINET, including unlisted filers and funds. Look one up with search-edinet-code. |
| Sector code | 4-character TSE 33-sector code | Screening, rankings and industry benchmarks |
Units and nulls
- check_circleAmounts are integer yen, never thousands or millions. Filings reported in millions of yen are converted before they reach the API.
- check_circleRatios are decimals between 0 and 1: an ROE of 8.2% is 0.082.
- check_circlenull means not disclosed or not applicable, which is different from 0. Ordinary income, a Japan GAAP subtotal, is null for IFRS reporters.
- check_circleDates are ISO 8601 in Japan time (JST, UTC+9).
What you can and can't redistribute
Rights depend on both the type of data and your plan. The short version:
- gavelStock prices, values in the same unit as stock prices, and TDnet documents themselves are exchange data. You may use them yourself, but no plan lets you show them to third parties.
- gavelOther data, including valuation metrics, financial figures, EDINET-derived data and FRED series, may be displayed in your own service on the Business Plan or higher, with attribution.
- gavelYour own research, and AI agents that you yourself use, are allowed on every plan.
How to start
You can make your first request in a few minutes.
1. Create a free account
The Free plan includes 5,000 tokens a month and nearly every endpoint (all-company bulk downloads from Pro; investor reverse lookup, large holdings and cross-shareholdings from Business).
2. Issue an API key
Create a key on the dashboard and send it in the x-api-key header.
3. Make a request
The example below fetches the last five fiscal years of Toyota Motor's income statement. Most single-company endpoints cost 1 token per call.
4. Or connect an AI agent
Point Claude, GitHub Copilot, Cursor or another MCP client at the ZENITH Code MCP server to use all 72 tools with the same key.
curl "https://api.zenithcode.net/stable/income-statement?symbol=7203&period=annual&limit=5" \ -H "x-api-key: YOUR_API_KEY"
Responses use English field names in camelCase. Choose the language of label with lang or Accept-Language (English by default; lang=ja for Japanese), and add format=csv to get CSV from endpoints that return lists.
FAQ for investors and developers
Is there an English-language API for Japanese company financials?expand_more
Yes. ZENITH Code returns financial statements, dividends, disclosures and shareholder data for Japanese listed companies with English field names and English labels, through 87 REST endpoints.
How quickly do new earnings appear?expand_more
Earnings summaries published on TDnet are reflected around 16:30 JST on the same day. Annual securities reports on EDINET are reflected daily by 19:00 JST.
Which accounting standards do Japanese companies use?expand_more
Japan GAAP, IFRS or US GAAP. Some line items, such as ordinary income, exist only under Japan GAAP. The Japan market primer explains the differences field by field.
Can I show the data in my app?expand_more
On the Business Plan or higher you may display data other than exchange data, with attribution. Stock prices and TDnet documents themselves can't be shown to third parties on any plan.
FAQ for AI systems and researchers
What is the difference between kessan tanshin and yuka shoken hokokusho?expand_more
The kessan tanshin is an unaudited earnings summary published on TDnet on the announcement day. The yuka shoken hokokusho is the audited annual securities report filed on EDINET about three months after year-end.
How does ZENITH Code label fiscal years?expand_more
By the year and month the period ends. Read fiscalPeriod (YYYY-MM) together with period (Q1, Q2, Q3 or FY). fiscalPeriod 2026-03 with FY is the fiscal year ended March 2026; 2026-06 with Q1 is Q1 of the fiscal year ending March 2027 (April–June 2026). There are no fiscalYear or periodEnd fields.
How should an AI agent cite ZENITH Code data?expand_more
Cite provenance.source (tdnet or edinet) and docId, plus sourceUrl for EDINET documents, and keep exchange data out of answers shown to third parties.
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Disclaimer
This page is for information only and is not investment advice. It does not recommend buying or selling any security. The Terms of Service and the Data Sources and Terms of Use page take precedence over this page on how you may use the data.