About 100 people attended a ceremony to mark the first trading day of the year at the Tokyo Stock Exchange.

Participants first observed one minute of silence for the victims of the Noto Peninsula earthquake. The exchange refrained from ringing the bell.

Japan Exchange Group CEO Yamaji Hiromi commented on market prospects. He cited various risk factors including the Israel-Hamas conflict but had positive expectations for the new year.

He said, "We've seen signs of the economy pulling out of about 30 years of deflation amid continuous inflation and increasing momentum for wage hikes."

Yamaji added that many people expect solid trends, and he hopes stock markets will be strong this year.