Japan Household Financial Assets Hit Record ¥2,212 Trillion

Jiji Press

17:53 JST, September 19, 2024

TOKYO (Jiji Press) — Financial assets held by households in Japan as of the end of June rose 4.6% from a year before to ¥2,212 trillion , hitting a record high for the sixth straight quarter, the Bank of Japan said Thursday.

The balances of shareholdings and investment trusts grew thanks to higher stock prices.

Meanwhile, the proportion of Japanese government bonds held by the BOJ, excluding treasury discount bills, fell to 53.21%, down for the third successive quarter.

Of the total household financial assets, shareholdings grew 15.6% to ¥301 trillion  and investment trusts climbed 27.1% to ¥128 trillion , both marking record highs as stock prices stayed solid even after Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 stock average surpassed 40,000 for the first time in March.

The balance of cash and deposits expanded 0.8% to ¥1,127 trillion . Insurance policies edged up 0.6% to ¥384 trillion  on the back of the yen’s weakening, which pushed up the balance of foreign currency-denominated policies.

Of the ¥1,061 trillion  outstanding balance of JGBs, the BOJ held ¥564 trillion . As the central bank has been reducing its outright purchases of JGBs since August to normalize its monetary policy, its JGB holdings are expected to shrink.

Nonfinancial companies’ financial assets grew 11.9% to ¥1,559 trillion, also marking a record high.