The number of individual shareholders in listed companies across the four Japanese stock markets climbed to a record high in fiscal 2023, surpassing 70 million for the first time amid an uptrend in share prices, according to the four bourses. The figure came to about 74.45 million, up 4.62 million from the previous fiscal year for the 10th consecutive year of increase, according to data compiled by the stock exchanges in Tokyo, Nagoya, Fukuoka and Sapporo. Share prices have advanced sharply recently, with the 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average hitting a record high in February for the first time s…