Expansion of New NISA: Devise Ways to Build up Household Assets

Editorial

15:44 JST, January 7, 2026

It is now the third year since the management of the Nippon Individual Savings Account (NISA) investment program, in which gains on small investments are exempted from tax, was significantly expanded. It is hoped that the program will be further reformed to facilitate stable asset building for households.

The government has promoted policies under the slogan of “from savings to investments,” aiming to shift household financial assets, which tend to be kept as savings, toward investments. The aim is to achieve both economic vitalization and the building up of assets for the public.

The new NISA program began in January 2024. There were about 21 million NISA accounts at the end of December 2023, and this figure had increased to about 27 million at the end of June 2025, a rise of about 30%. More than 30% of people in their 30s and 40s have opened accounts.

The Nikkei Stock Average is booming, exceeding 52,000. It can be said that awareness of NISA is growing among the public and it is becoming established as a method of asset building.

In a “world with interest rates,” higher interest rates on deposits benefit household budgets, but rising mortgage rates and other factors increase the burden on working generations. It is crucial to deepen knowledge of the economy and finance, and to devise ways for people to manage their assets.

However, NISA is a mechanism that reduces risks by making small, long-term and diversified investments. It is important to reaffirm the fundamental purpose of the NISA program that it is desirable for investors to maintain their investments over the long term and not be excessively influenced by short-term market fluctuations.

Further expanding the number of accounts remains a challenge. To address this, the government came out with new measures to expand NISA in December last year. It intends to expand the eligibility of “Tsumitate” (installment) NISA investments — suited for longer-term asset management through monthly fixed-amount investments — to people under 18.

The Tsumitate investment program imposes a restriction that allows withdrawals from age 12 and only with the child’s consent.

The aim is for parents to open accounts in their children’s names, encouraging asset building from early childhood to prepare for major expenses, such as those related to going to university. It requires thorough risk management across entire household budgets, combining both parents’ and children’s accounts.

At the same time, the problem has been pointed out that under the NISA program, funds are flowing overseas due to the high popularity of investment trusts that manage high-performing assets such as U.S. stocks, encouraging excessive weakness in the yen.

The Tokyo Stock Price Index (TOPIX) and the Nikkei Stock Average are among the four stock indexes currently eligible in Japan for Tsumitate investments. The JPX Prime 150 Index operated by Japan Exchange Group, Inc., and the Yomiuri Stock Index (Yomiuri 333) will be newly added to the list.

Expanding the eligible stock indexes is aimed at boosting investments in domestic stocks. It is crucial to achieve corporate growth and a virtuous cycle in which both investments and wages increase.

(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, Jan. 7, 2026)