While yen weakness may help corporate Japan, it has been bad news for US dollar-based investors in Japanese equities. But the relative sentiment story becomes much more upbeat when viewed in the context of hedged performance in dollars. The rally in Japan - based on a dollar-hedged index against the world, excluding Japan, after a pullback that tested key broken resistance - confirms that its 2006-12 relative downward trend has been broken. With the authorities in an accommodative mood and Japan having broken out of its relative downward trend, a move to retest 2009 highs against the rest of the world is possible in the medium term.