Interim Results

Fleming Japanese Inv Trust PLC
29 May 2003



                   THE FLEMING JAPANESE INVESTMENT TRUST PLC



                         STOCK EXCHANGE ANNOUNCEMENT OF
                      UNAUDITED RESULTS FOR THE SIX MONTHS
                              TO 31st MARCH 2003



The Board today release the unaudited interim results of the Company for the six
month period to 31st March 2003.



The following are comments from the Chairman:



Chairman's Interim Statement



Review

It is disappointing to report to shareholders that there have been further falls
in the Company's net asset value and share price over the six months to 31st
March 2003.



The net asset value over the six-month period fell by 15.6%. This compares with
a fall of 12.6% in the benchmark index, the Tokyo Stock Exchange 1st Section
Index expressed in sterling terms. The share price fell by 18.8% reflecting a
widening of the discount to 21.8%.



The overall performance of the Japanese index over the period masked widely
diverging returns. The TOPIX Core 30 index, which comprises 30 of the largest
and highest quality companies in the market (some of which are owned in your
fund), fell by 18% in yen against a drop of 12.6% for the market as a whole.
Many of the Core 30 stocks have high profit margins and returns on equity,
strong balance sheets, quality management teams, and relatively cheap
valuations. This ought to have made them more attractive to investors, but
because they are also global companies which derive substantial portions of
their business from outside Japan, worries about war with Iraq, concerns about
US economic growth and the weakness of the dollar weighed heavily on them and
led to selling pressure.



The period also saw the implementation of so-called 'Daiko Henjo' selling,
whereby public pension funds liquidate assets to pay back into the government
pension scheme. The selling tended to be focused on good quality, liquid, highly
priced stocks and led to sharp declines in the share prices of some of Japan's
most successful companies, such as Honda and Ricoh. Despite there being a clear
long-term investment case for these companies and notwithstanding low
valuations, they under-performed the market which had a material impact on the
returns of the Company relative to benchmark.



A corollary to our exposure to the quality stocks is that our performance was
also affected by not being exposed to many areas of the market that performed
well, almost by default. Small cap stocks held up well because they were either
under-owned or not sufficiently liquid for the purposes of 'Daiko Henjo' selling
and, even more frustratingly, the share prices of some of Japan's weakest
companies with the worst balance sheets were among the strongest performers
simply because investors expected banks to delay loan foreclosures.



Our investment style leads us to focus on the strongest and best Japanese
corporations. Inevitably there will be periods, such as the current one, when
what might be seen as relief rallies among the weaker companies affect our
performance adversely. In the long run, however, we believe that focusing on the
better quality names is an investment approach which will work.



Outlook

The economic signals from Japan are mixed. Recent macro indicators suggest that
the economy is struggling. Forecasts are for almost zero sales growth, and the
predicted 12% rise in pre-tax profits is wholly attributable to cost cutting.
Nevertheless, the economic downturn may be shallower than expected. This is
because exports to Asia and China have continued to grow. The growth has come
not just from the better-known sectors such as autos and machinery, but also
from products such as scrap iron, waste plastic and recycled paper, in all of
which Japan used to be a net importer. Partly as a result, capital expenditure
has also seen steady improvement.



In the past, valuations of Japanese stocks have been difficult to justify. This
has now changed. After a severe de-rating, certain areas of the market are
cheap, both in relative and absolute terms. For example, in the January-March
quarter, Canon's operating earnings rose more than 80% year-on-year and net
profit more than doubled. The company has a world market share of more than 70%
for laser-beam printers, robust future growth prospects, a strong balance sheet
and a price-to-earnings multiple of 16 times. Many stocks in the Company's
portfolio, such as Ricoh, Honda, Shin-Etsu Chemical, Toyota and Denso are in
similar situations. These companies now account for a meaningful proportion of
the Japanese index, and their cheap valuations make an increasingly strong case
for the overall Japanese stock market finding support at or around current
levels.



Share Repurchases

The Company's authority to repurchase shares for cancellation was renewed by
shareholders at the Annual General Meeting in December. Since then the Company
has repurchased 2,010,000 ordinary shares at an average discount of 19.8% and a
cost of £2.5 million. This reduced the issued share capital by just over 1% and
had the effect of enhancing the net asset value return by 0.3%.



Allocation of Expenses

The Board has decided to amend its practice of charging the management fee and
finance costs wholly to revenue and instead with effect from 1st October 2002,
charge 20% to revenue and 80% to capital in line with the Boards expected
long-term split of returns, in the form of income and capital gains
respectively.



David Ritchie

Chairman            29th May 2003



Please note that the above statements may differ from the final version to be
published in the interim accounts.



For further information, please contact:



Jonathan Latter

J.P. Morgan Fleming Asset Management (UK) Limited, 020 7742 3408

Secretary to the Company

















The Fleming Japanese Investment Trust plc

Unaudited figures for the six months ended 31 March 2003



Statement of Total Return (Unaudited)


                        Six months to 31 March 2003       Six months to 31 March 2002     Year to 30 September 2002

                          Revenue     Capital     Total   Revenue   Capital       Total   Revenue   Capital     Total
                            £'000       £'000     £'000     £'000     £'000       £'000     £'000     £'000     £'000


Realised (losses)/gains         -    (19,953)  (19,953)         -     1,981       1,981         -     1,694     1,694
on investments
Net change in                   -    (32,697)  (32,697)         -    20,122      20,122         -  (72,313)  (72,313)
unrealised appreciation
Currency losses on cash
and short-term                  -                               -
                                        (253)     (253)             (1,374)     (1,374)         -   (1,306)   (1,306)
deposits held during
the period
Unrealised (losses)/            -        (38)      (38)         -     6,937       6,937         -     6,937     6,937
gain on currency hedges
Change in unrealised            -           -         -               1,788       1,788               2,321     2,321
gains on Yen loans
Realised (losses)/gains         -       (481)     (481)         -     3,601       3,601         -     3,602     3,602
on repayment of Yen
loan
Other capital charges           -        (14)      (14)         -         -           -                (34)      (34)
Overseas dividends          2,014           -     2,014     1,646         -       1,646     3,369         -     3,369
Sundry receipts               502           -       502         -         -           -         -         -         -
Stock lending fees             62           -        62        79         -          79       222         -       222
Deposit interest                7           -         7         7         -           7        10         -        10
                          _______    ________   _______    ______   _______    ________   _______   _______   _______

Gross return                2,585    (53,436)  (50,851)     1,732    33,055      34,787     3,601  (59,099)  (55,498)

Management fee              (200)       (800)   (1,000)   (1,418)         -     (1,418)   (2,749)         -   (2,749)

Other administrative        (237)           -     (237)     (201)         -       (201)     (362)         -     (362)
expenses

Interest payable             (84)       (337)     (421)     (963)         -       (963)   (1,552)         -   (1,552)

                          _______     _______   _______    ______   _______     _______   _______   _______   _______

Return before taxation      2,064    (54,573)  (52,509)     (850)    33,055      32,205   (1,062)  (59,099)  (60,161)

Taxation                    (478)           -     (478)     (247)         -       (247)     (505)         -     (505)

                           ______     _______   _______    ______   _______      ______   _______   _______   _______

Total return                1,586    (54,573)  (52,987)   (1,097)    33,055      31,958   (1,567)  (59,099)  (60,666)
attributable to
ordinary shareholders

Return per ordinary         0.84p    (28.06)p  (28.22)p   (0.57)p    17.21p      16.64p   (0.82)p  (31.08)p  (31.90)p
share














The Fleming Japanese Investment Trust plc

Unaudited figures for the six months ended 31 March 2003


BALANCE SHEET                                                           31 March        31 March         30 Sept
                                                                            2003            2002            2002
                                                                           £'000           £'000           £'000

Investments at valuation                                                 304,898         458,223         361,180


Net current assets/(liabilities)                                           6,435           (319)         (4,490)

Creditors (amounts falling due after more than one year)                (26,676)        (26,069)        (18,282)
                                                                         _______         _______         _______
Total net assets                                                         284,657         431,835         338,408

                                                                           =====           =====           =====
Net asset value per ordinary share                                        152.1p          229.3p          180.2p

CASH FLOW STATEMENT
                                                                            2003            2002            2002
                                                                           £'000           £'000           £'000

Net cash inflow from operating activities                                     57             145             495

Net cash inflow/(outflow) from returns on investments and
servicing of finance
                                                                             419           (577)          21,518

Net cash inflow from capital expenditure and financial
investment
                                                                           7,983          64,421          51,969

Net cash outflow from financing                                         (14,655)        (92,923)        (79,670)
                                                                         _______         _______          ______
(Decrease) in cash for the period                                        (6,196)        (28,934)         (5,688)
                                                                           =====           =====            ====
















The above financial information does not constitute statutory accounts as
defined in Section 240 of the Companies Act 1985. Statutory accounts for the
year ended 30 September 2002 have been delivered to the Registrar of Companies.





J.P. MORGAN FLEMING ASSET MANAGEMENT (UK) LIMITED

29th May 2003






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