, renamed from , is the largest derivatives exchange in Japan, in terms of amount of business handled. , the Osaka Securities Exchange had 477 listed companies with a combined market capitalization of $212 billion. The Nikkei 225 Futures, introduced at the Osaka Securities Exchange in 1988, is now an internationally recognized futures index. In contrast to the Tokyo Stock Exchange, which mainly deals in spot trading, the Osaka Securities Exchange's strength is in derivative products. The OSE is the leading Derivatives Exchange in Japan and it was the largest futures market in the world in 1990 and 1991. According to statistics from 2003, the Osaka Securities Exchange handled 59% of the stock price index futures market in Japan, and almost 100% of trading in the options market. Osaka Securities Exchange Co., which listed on its Hercules market for startups in April 2004 is the only Japanese securities exchange which went public on its own market. In July 2006 OSE launched their newest futures contract the Nikkei 225 mini, which is one tenth of the size of the original Nikkei 225 Futures contract and highly popular among Japanese individual investors. In September 2007 OSE established evening session for Stock Index Futures and Options.The trading hours is from 16:30 to 19:00 (JST. 7:30-10:00 in UTC). In July 2012 a planned merger with the Tokyo Stock Exchange was approved by the Japan Fair Trade Commission. Today, despite its name, trading for Osaka Stock Exchange takes place in Tokyo. History The birthplace for futures transactions: Dōjima Rice Exchange ( The origin of securities exchanges stems from the Edo period, when an exchange for rice and crops was established in Osaka, which at the time was the economic center of Japan. Each prefecture set up its own warehouses in Osaka for shipping & preservation of their rice (to be taxed by the government), and sold to merchants. One of the most famous merchants was "Yodoya", which was based in the southern part of the Yodoyabashi area. Some other merchants gradually gathered to create one market. This market was called "Yodoya-Komeichi", and was the first securities exchange in the nation. Later on, this market was moved to Dōjima in 1697. The so-called "Dōjimakomekaisho", was a physical market that traded in rice-tickets or physical rice. In 1716, Cho-gomai transactions were introduced and recognized by the government in 1730 — this is said to be the origin