Jan 31 (Japan Today) - To mark the ascension of Japan's new emperor, the government has declared an unprecedented 10-day holiday from late April to early May, worrying investors, who say a market shutdown could cause disruption and unsettle the yen.
Japan usually has a string of public holidays from late April to early May, the so-called the Golden Week.
But this year, with Crown Prince Naruhito's being crowned the new emperor on May 1, the government made the entire period from April 27 to May 6 a market holiday.
It will be the longest break ever for Japanese stocks and bonds.
Major financial centers rarely have such long periods of shutdown. U.S. financial markets closed for six days after the attacks on Sept 11, 2001.
"It's horrifying that we can't trade for six business days. We've got to adjust our positions before the week. Hard to say exactly what I will do then, but I'll probably have to make my position neutral before the holidays," said Yasuo Sakuma, chief investment officer at Libra Investments.
Japan's financial watchdog has told all financial institutions to alert customers about the possibility of turbulence in overseas markets during the shutdown, and to make sure their systems can cope with a flurry of activity before and after, documents obtained by Reuters showed.
The U.S. and UK central banks will hold policy meetings during the Japanese holiday; U.S. payroll data, GDP from the United States and the Eurozone, and corporate earnings around the world will also be released.
