Japan Household Financial Assets Hit Record High at End of 2024

Tokyo, March 21 (Jiji Press)--Financial assets held by households in Japan as of the end of 2024 rose 4.0 pct from a year earlier to a record 2,230 trillion yen, Bank of Japan data showed Friday.

Backed by a recovery of stock prices following a tumble in August last year, the balance of investment trust funds and that of shareholdings went up.

Of the year-end total, shareholdings grew 9.5 pct to 298 trillion yen, according to the data for October-December last year. Investment trusts soared 27.4 pct to 136 trillion yen, supported by higher stock prices and the launch of the new Nippon Individual Savings Account tax exemption program for small-lot investors in January last year.

The balance of cash and deposits expanded 0.6 pct to 1,134 trillion yen, thanks to higher bonus payments.

The balance of insurance products climbed 0.5 pct to 383 trillion yen, partly because a weaker yen pushed up the balance of foreign currency-denominated policies.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]