Young brands like Uniqlo and Zensho have led Japan stocks

TOKYO -- The Nikkei Stock Average recorded an all-time high after 34 years on Thursday, with stock prices of 142 companies having increased more than tenfold in that time -- supported more recently by foreign investors cashing in on small businesses and betting on company founders with outsize ambitions.

In Edinburgh, Scotland, where some influential investors gather, a Japanese equity fund has survived the "lost three decades" with outstanding returns. The mutual fund Shin Nippon began operations in 1985. That was the same year the Plaza Accord was signed, which many observers say led Japan into its bubble economy and subsequent lost decades.