For an investment universe of its size and diversity, the Japanese Smaller Companies sector attracts very little attention in the UK retail landscape, with just seven dedicated funds onshore.

John MacDougall, who runs the largest of these – Baillie Gifford’s £114.4m (€128m, $189m) Japanese Smaller Companies vehicle – says the same neglect is apparent among sell-side analysts, particularly since last winter’s wave of banking redundancies.