

The real name of Japan's most famous day trader has not been made public, he is known only as B.N.F. He first appeared in the public eye after making 2.2 billion yen in ten minutes following a Mizuho Securities trading blunder and was reported to have over 20 billlion yen in personal assets in spring this year. The 30 year old is back in the news again today as ZakZak reports that he has just paid 9 billion yen in cash for some commercial property in the centre of Akihabara. The building, called "chomp chomp Akihabara", only opened in April and is in a prime location next to the station. It was formerly the site of the Rocket discount electrical goods store but was redeveloped when that firm went bankrupt. Since B.N.F. hadn't appeared in the press over recent months, rumours had begun to circulate that the trader must have suffered substantial losses during the financial crisis. It appears, however, that he still has the wherewithal to make some major moves. Shukan Fuji said that the building's tenant's were dumbfounded when they heard the news. One expressed concern that the landlord was now an individual rather than a corporation, saying they can be more difficult to negotiate with. Another thought the sellers had done well to get their asking price, pointing out that visitor traffic to the area had dropped sharply after the random killing spree earlier this year. The strong yen has since had a dramatic effect on foreign visitors which is causing further problems. A real estate agent takes a different stance, pointing out that the building is at full capacity and is generating a rent of 30-50,000 yen per tsubo which means the building currently yields a monthly income of 50 million yen. This handily beats the interest on offer at a bank. It might also be that B.N.F decided that holding all his cash in a bank account was no longer prudent.