Growth Focus
"These products are full of unnecessary functions," Fujino said. "Consumers don't get excited about them."
Still, he said investing in Japan's biggest stocks can work when money floods into the market, driving rallies. The Nikkei rose as much as 19 percent at the height of a four-month rally after the U.S. Federal Reserve introduced its second round of quantitative easing in November 2010.
Fujino favors companies such as Toyota where founders or their families still wield enough influence to keep management focused on long-term growth. Akio Toyoda serves as president of the automaker his grandfather started in 1937. Toyota, which Toyoda took the reins of in 2009 after it reported a record loss, has risen 14 percent this year after dropping 20 percent in 2011.
"I make profits investing in Japanese companies because I select stocks based on a simple principle," Fujino said. "A company's share price goes hand in hand with its earnings growth, not its size or prestige."