Check Out This Inexpensive Basket of Japanese Growers: Mizuho Financial Group Inc. (ADR) (MFG), Nomura Holdings, Inc. (ADR) (NMR)

Other companies didn’t do as well last year, but could see their fortunes change in the coming years. Nippon Telegraph & Telephone Corp (ADR) (NYSE:NTT) gained just 1%, but it’s looking attractive to some, with a recent 4.3% dividend yield and its subsidiary NTT Docomo reducing its debt. But it faces strong competition, such as from Softbank, which recently invested in Sprint Nextel Corporation (NYSE: S).

Canon Inc. (ADR) (NYSE:CAJ) , meanwhile, sank 21%, but offers a hefty dividend of 4.2%. The company has posted some disappointing numbers in recent quarters, but it compares favorably on a number of measures with many competitors. Boding well, though, is its patent strength. Canon has been one of America’s top five patent holders for 27 consecutive years. It recently released a new Mixed Reality 3-D headset, and has been taking market share from printer rivals such as Lexmark International Inc (NYSE: LXK).

The article Check Out This Inexpensive Basket of Japanese Growers originally appeared on Fool.com and is written by Selena Maranjian.

Longtime Fool contributor Selena Maranjian, whom you can follow on Twitter, has no position in any stocks mentioned, and neither does The Motley Fool.

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