Forex trading in Japan is pretty popular as the country is a major financial trading hub. The Tokyo trading session is the most liquid Asian session, where traders can speculate and catch multiple trading opportunities.
MetaTrader 4 is the main platform of choice for many Japanese traders because of its robust features and advanced security.
The tech behind MT4 is pretty advanced and offers both manual and fully automated trading. Let’s briefly overview the main MT4 features and define how traders can use the platform’s capabilities for their trading prowess.
Why MT4 is so popular in Japan
MT4 is one of the most popular trading platforms, which is 100% free and allows demo trading with virtual funds. The platform is very advanced and has fully customizable features. While its design is slightly older, it still offers a user-friendly interface, which, after mastering, becomes very difficult to abandon in favor of other platforms.
MT4 is a go-to platform for Japanese traders because it offers multi-asset access, tens of built-in indicators, multiple chart and order types, and fast trade execution. It even comes in a mobile app version for both iOS and Android devices, making it a go app for trading on the go.
In the end, many retail traders in Japan rely on MetaTrader 4 (MT4) because it combines simplicity with advanced tools, which enable both beginner and seasoned traders to develop and test effective trading strategies.
Getting started with MT4 platform – A step-by-step guide
When you have an account with a local broker, it is easier to use the MT4 platform. It can be downloaded from the broker’s official website, and after logging in with the registered account’s credentials, traders can start using it to trade the markets.
Step 1 – Download the MT4
This is easier than it seems. Traders can open an account and then download the platform from the official website of their broker or from the official website of the MT4 platform. It is free, and anyone can download and use it to analyze markets. After it is downloaded on your machine, you can install it just like any other software, depending on the platform. It supports both Windows and macOS, which makes it popular.
Step 2 – Connect the broker account
After the software is installed, traders can log in to their account using the top menu bar, where they have to click File → Log in to a trading account. After inserting their login and password, traders will be logged into their account, where they can see their account balance at the bottom.
Step 3 – Set up charts
When logging in for the first time, there are many charts open at the same time, which makes it difficult to focus on any single one of them. The best way is to use the menu at the top right of each chart to open it in full-screen mode inside the MT4 platform. Traders can then customize charts to their liking.
Step 4 – Practice on a demo account
A demo account is like a live training account, but money is virtual. It is an essential account where traders can learn trading or develop and test new strategies. Because of these advantages, a demo account is a necessary step 1 for beginner traders.
Simple Forex strategies used by Japanese traders on MT4
The simplest trading strategies using MT4 include using built-in indicator combinations and additional confirmations for trading. Popular and simple techniques include moving average crossovers, support and resistance levels trading, and parabolic SAR or RSI for entries and exit signals.
Moving average crossover – A timeless classic
Moving average crossover strategy is easy, visually appealing, and super popular among beginner traders. It involves using 2 or 3 moving averages with different periods to cover both short-term and long-term price action.
A higher period moving average (MA) is called a slow, while lower period ones are fast MAs. Traders either use simple or exponential MAs. When the fast MA crosses the slow MA upwards, it is a buy signal, and the opposite is true for sell signals. However, relying only on moving average crossover is not enough to develop a profitable strategy, and a broader market context is important. If the price is moving mostly upwards, then it is a good filter to only take buy trades, and vice versa when there is a strong downtrend.
Support and resistance – A must-know technique for everyone
This is a classic and yet very powerful and simple strategy. Traders need to find zones where prices struggled in the past and use them as a level of support and resistance. Support is below the price, and resistance is the ceiling where the price had difficulty breaking out. When the price bounces on these levels, traders use it to enter trades.
RSI or Parabolic systems
RSI, or Relative Strength Index, is a popular indicator that is also built inside MT4 by default, just like all others mentioned above. RSI, for example, is used to spot oversold and overbought levels on the chart, and many traders use it for buy and sell signals.
However, it is also critical here to take into account the overall market trend and conditions. Parabolic SAR is also powerful to spot trends and determine where the price might be heading, but it also needs to be combined with other indicators or data for maximum accuracy.