Takashi Kotegawa

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Early Career & Background

Questions about how he started with 1.6 million yen and his early learning and exploratory process.

What specific part-time jobs did he undertake to accumulate his initial 1.6 million JPY in startup capital? How long did this process take?
What was his university major? Did it have any impact on his early trading career?
What was the trigger or event that led him to decide to invest his hard-earned savings into the high-risk stock market?
Were his early trades smooth sailing? Did he experience significant losses or was he close to a margin call/account blow-up?
When he first entered the market in 2000, what was his approach to learning trading? Was it self-study through books, online forums, or other methods?
What was the environment of the Japanese stock market like around 2000 (after the IT bubble burst)? How did this environment shape his early trading style?

Trading Strategy & Techniques

In-depth questions about his core trading system, stock selection criteria, risk management, and daily operational details.

What is his typical holding period? Is it minutes, hours, or does he hold positions overnight?
In addition to the Bias Ratio, does he use other technical indicators for auxiliary judgment, such as Trading Volume, MACD, or RSI?
How does he manage risk? Does he set strict stop-loss points? What is his maximum tolerable loss per single trade?
How are the multiple monitors in his trading room specifically allocated, and what information is displayed on each screen?
What are the specific operations of his core trading strategy, the "Mean Reversion Trading Method based on Deviation Rate"? How does he define "excessive" deviation?
How does he screen out target stocks for daily trading from thousands of options? What are his stock selection criteria?
What is his typical daily trading routine? (e.g., what time does he wake up, what pre-market preparations does he make, how does he operate during market hours, and does he conduct post-market reviews?)
When deciding to place an order, how does he determine the position size? Is it based on a fixed percentage of capital, or on the certainty of the trade?
Which moving average (e.g., 5-day, 25-day, 75-day) does he primarily refer to for judging the deviation rate?
He once said he doesn't look at company fundamentals (financial reports, news, P/E ratio). Why does he consider this information "noise" for his short-term trading?
In which market condition—bull, bear, or ranging—does his trading system perform best? How would he adjust his strategy in response to market changes?
Has he tried trading financial products other than stocks, such as futures, forex, or cryptocurrency?
When he decided to place a buy order, how did he quickly calculate how much capital to commit? Was that the entirety of the available funds in his account at that time?

The 'J-Com Man' Incident

Questions surrounding the 'J-Com fat-finger' incident that made him famous overnight.

From the perspectives of skill and luck, how does he evaluate this 'once-in-a-lifetime' trading success?
During the "J-Com Incident," how was he able to immediately identify the abnormal order as a "fat-finger" error rather than a specific institutional operation?
Earning over 2 billion Yen in just over ten minutes: What were their true psychological feelings at that moment? Was it ecstasy, shock, or calmness?
This event brought him immense wealth and fame, but what were the positive or negative impacts on his subsequent trading mentality and life?

Trading Psychology & Mindset

Questions about how he maintained discipline, handled losses, and managed his mental state with immense wealth.

How to maintain a calm trading mindset, unaffected by changes in capital size, as assets grow from millions to billions?
How does he deal with the frustration and self-doubt that come with continuous losses?
As a solitary home trader, how can one relieve stress and loneliness?
What does he consider to be the most crucial psychological quality for a successful short-term trader? (e.g., discipline, patience, decisiveness?)

Personal Life & Values

Exploring his simple lifestyle, views on money, personal character, and relationships with the outside world.

Why did he choose to completely disappear from the public eye after gaining fame?
Despite amassing immense wealth, why does he choose to live an extremely simple life (eating instant noodles, residing in an ordinary apartment)? What values underpin this choice?
Does his initial online handle "B.N.F." have a deeper personal meaning to him, beyond being an homage to Victor Niederhoffer?
He once stated he had little interest in money itself. What then is the true driving force behind his high-intensity daily trading? Is it the challenge, enjoyment, or simply habit?
What are his views on material wealth (luxury cars, high-end watches, luxury goods)?
How has wealth influenced his relationships with family and friends? How does he manage these relationships?
In media interviews, he appears very humble and low-key. Is this his true personality or a deliberate act?
Aside from his trading activities, does he have any other interests or hobbies?
Has he made any charitable donations or participated in any public welfare activities?

Later Career & Investment Shift

Questions about his shift from day trading to long-term investments like real estate and his strategies during major market events.

Apart from this property, does he have any other real estate or equity investments? What is his long-term asset allocation strategy?
How significantly did the 2008 Global Financial Crisis impact his assets, and how did he respond?
Has he considered establishing his own fund to manage external capital? If not, what are the reasons?
What is his estimated current net worth? Is he still actively involved in stock trading?
If he were still trading today, which industries or sectors would he focus on?
Why did he gradually shift from high-frequency, short-term trading to long-term real estate investment after 2008?
What was his investment logic and considerations when he spent 17 billion JPY to purchase the AKIBA Cultures ZONE building in Akihabara?

Legacy & Influence

Discussing the lessons from his success, the legacy he leaves behind, and how he is perceived by others.

How has his success story influenced individual investors in Japan and globally?
To what extent does his experience exemplify 'survivorship bias'? How significant were luck and the benefits of the era in his success?
If he could offer one piece of advice to today's young traders, what do you think it would be?
Given today's market, dominated by algorithmic and high-frequency trading, is his past trading methodology still effective?
Will Takashi Kotegawa (B.N.F.) ultimately be remembered as a 'speculative genius', an 'icon of his era', or 'a lucky legend'?
How does he view Buffett-style value investing? Does he agree with this investment philosophy, which differs significantly from his own style?
Many try to emulate his trading methods, yet few succeed. What do you believe is the key difference?