ONE HAS LONG BEEN A SAFE PLACE TO PARK MONEY WHILE THE OTHER IS NOT SO MUCH: Investors Fleeing China Are Going Big in Japan.

Japanese cosmetics and pop culture have long been hot items in China—Japanese stocks, less so.

The fact that this is beginning to change—Chinese individual investors are piling headlong into Japanese shares as their own market flags—is both a sign of the times and a big hint as to why Japanese stocks are suddenly doing so well in general.

Foreign investors who previously parked a lot of cash in China need somewhere else for their international allocations. A lot of Chinese domestic capital is eyeing the exits, too: And Japan is cheaper than the U.S. and, potentially, comes with less political and regulatory risk.

Potentially?