Asian stockmarkets have had a tough year, culminating in October as trade tensions, a strong US dollar, rising bond yields and weaker Chinese macro data combined to send share prices sharply lower.
The campaign fury in the build-up to the US mid-term elections may have been a factor in 'Red October', which saw the S&P 500 take a 10% intra-month hit.
Japanese stocks are about as cheap on a price to 12-month forward EPS ratio as they have been in many years and are cheaper than many of their global peers.
Avoiding freezing of US-China ties
Joining Shanghai and Hong Kong offices
What is the real impact of escalating China/US tensions?
The Japanese equity market will resume its ascent, buoyed by favourable political conditions, strong and evolving corporate reforms and continued monetary easing by the Bank of Japan (BoJ).
IA Global sector bestselling
Barclays Smart Investor takes a look at markets