Japan Household Financial Assets Post 1st Fall in 8 Quarters

Tokyo, Dec. 18 (Jiji Press)--Financial assets held by households in Japan stood at 2,179 trillion yen as of the end of September, falling from a record high marked three months before in their first decline in eight quarters, the Bank of Japan said Wednesday.

The fall reflected a decline in stock prices following the central bank's decision in July to raise interest rates as well as a weaker yen.

Compared with a year earlier, however, the balance of household financial assets was up 2.8 pct.

The balance marked a record high for the sixth straight quarter as of the end of June following the introduction of the new NISA tax-exempt program for small-lot investors in January and thanks to higher stock prices.

Of the total as of the end of September, shareholdings gained 7.2 pct from a year before to 285 trillion yen and investment trusts soared 23.3 pct to 125 trillion yen.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]