It turns out numbers aren¡¯t the only things that matter for companies trying to gain entry into the index of Âé¶¹´«Ã½ best companies.

Tokyo Electric Power Co. missed out on a place in the government-backed JPX-Nikkei Index 400 in a reshuffle of the gauge¡¯s members last week, defying forecasts from at least four brokerages that the utility would gain entry because it meets the index¡¯s quantitative criteria. Tepco, as the company is known, tumbled 7.9 percent to ?815 as of 12:45 p.m. in Tokyo on Monday, on course for its steepest drop since August 2013.

The operator of the crippled Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant became eligible for the index after a surge in its earnings and shares, according to brokerages including Nomura Holdings Inc. and Daiwa Securities Group Inc. While the exclusion of Tepco is understandable ¡°on an emotional level,¡± it calls into question the transparency of the selection criteria for an index designed to wring better shareholder returns from Japanese companies, said SMBC Nikko Securities Inc.