Japanese retail investors have ramped up leverage to chase the domestic AI stock rally, pushing margin trading to 123 trillion yen by July, or about 1.09 trillion yuan, double the level at the start of the year and the highest since the data series began in 2016. June had already marked a record for individual investors' margin trading volume, and July remained elevated. Margin trading also accounted for 83% of total retail trading value by individual investors, another record. AI-linked shares were the main driver of the surge, with storage-related Kioxia Holdings emerging as a favored target after its margin buying balance reached 13.23 million shares as of Aug. 7.