“From savings to investment” What do you think?

From "savings" to "investment" for personal financial assets

Prime Minister Kishida's "new capitalism" implementation plan was shown.

Compared to Europe and the United States, Japan has been said to "save less, but invest less."

I tried to find out what it was actually like.

More than 50% of Japanese household "savings"

First of all, what is the ratio of "savings" and "investment" in Japanese households?

This is the data (* 1) published by the Bank of Japan.

Of household financial assets,

▽ "cash / deposits" account for more than half, more than 54%

▽ "insurance / pension / standard guarantee" more than 27%

▽ "stocks, etc." 10%, etc. ..

In contrast, "cash and deposits" in the United States account for more than 13%, and the euro area accounts for more than 34%.

Looking at this, we can see that the weight of "savings" is high in Japanese households.

* Bank of Japan Survey and Statistics Bureau (announced in August 2021)

I asked 30 people

We conducted a street interview in early June in Shinjuku, Tokyo.

I decided to talk about "savings" and "investment" with the goal of 30 people in this place where people of all ages come and go.

The questions I asked are as follows.

Q1. Do you invest?

Aren't you?

Q2. Please tell me the amount of savings.

Q3. Please tell me the reason (about Q1).

"Investment is difficult"

First of all, the reasons given by many of the people who answered "I will not invest".

They said, "I think it's difficult to invest," "I don't know," and "I'm afraid of risk."

(Not invested, teenage female college student)

"It's still a little difficult. I don't know the stock price or myself yet."

(Not invested, male office worker in his 30s)

"If I have a lot of money, I would like to invest. Maybe. But it's troublesome. It's not familiar. "

(I haven't invested, male in my 20s, freelance)

" It's hard to make money even if you are asked to invest suddenly. I feel that the risks and negatives are too big. (I

have

n't invested, a teenage female college student)

"I haven't invested. I have an image that it's scary to start without knowing it well."

One of the reasons why the understanding of investment has not progressed in Japan is that financial education has not been carried out much in schools.

Regarding this, the high school curriculum guidelines revised from this year have made it mandatory to teach "how to manage and manage money" in home economics.

"Investment ... if you can afford it"

Some people said there was a compelling reason why they couldn't invest.

(I haven't invested, male in my 70s is unemployed) "I'm doing my best to eat. I'd like to

invest

... I'd like to try it if I can afford it."

School student)

"It's a bit risky to invest only during a part-time job (income). I wonder if it's still a place to be touched."

Those who are investing ...

On the other hand, those who answered that they are "investing".

There were more than I expected before the interview.

A man in his 70s who has been investing in stocks for many years.

The investment amount so far is said to be close to 30 million yen.

He also owns gold = gold and keeps it in a safe.

"The rich have more," he asked the humble man what he would use the profits from his investment, and he showed the airline's shareholder coupon and said:

"Funds for living in old age. Also, travel or leisure?"

Cryptocurrency assets

Also, although this may be speculative, some people say that they are trading crypto assets that were once called cryptocurrencies.

(I haven't invested, a male college student in my 20s)

"I started with the introduction of my seniors. I tried putting in about 200,000 yen and stopped when I could increase it to about 300,000 yen. However, I have to do it moderately. It feels like I tried it as an experience. "

(Investing, male office worker in his thirties)

" At one point, when (virtual currency) was done, I was hung up. However, I invested in a field I don't really understand and ended up losing about 500,000 yen. "

Many people have started recently?

NISA in the background

Many of the people who said they were "investing" were those who started in the last few years.

In the background, it seems that "NISA" (= 1.2 million yen per year, up to 5 years) that started in 2014 and "Reserve NISA" (= 400,000 yen per year, up to 20 years) that started in 2018 have become widespread.

(Investing, female office worker in his 30s)

"I am doing an investment trust. Recommended by a bank counter. Is it a funded NISA?"

(Investing, male office worker in his 20s)

"This I started NISA from. I thought I should start with simple things instead of saving money. There was a person who was thinking about investing a lot in the same period, so I wasn't afraid, but let's do it together. "

What is NISA?

Of these, "NISA" is a system in which you can invest up to 1.2 million yen annually in stocks, etc., and profits and dividends are exempt from tax for 5 years.

The investment deadline will be reached at the end of 2023, but it has been decided to extend it for five years after changing the structure.

After 2024, the maximum annual amount is 1.22 million yen.

Investment of up to 6.1 million yen will be tax exempt in five years, but the government has decided to further reform this system.

The reason for investing "now" is ...

But why is it an investment now?

Many of the motives for this were the current ultra-low interest rates and anxiety about the future.

(Investing, male office worker in his 40s)

"I thought that saving money would not increase my money, so I would invest. The investment amount is about 30,000 yen a month."

(Investing, 40) Female office worker)

"I have a funded NISA with iDeCo (= individual defined contribution pension: tax exemption on contributions and investment profits). I think it's a little old age. I don't know how much pension I can get."

(Investment (Male teacher in his 50s)

"I wasn't interested in it until now, but I started consulting with my wife. To prepare for the 20 million yen problem in old age. I'm fine now, so I hope I can work. I don't know what will happen when I'm in my 70s and 80s. ”

(Investing, male office worker in his 30s)

“ I think it would be better to increase the amount rather than depositing it in a bank. I wish I could increase it and use it in old age. I can't trust the country, so I have to prepare it myself. "

The result of the street interview is

This is a breakdown of interviews with 30 people over a two-day period in Shinjuku.

Of course, it is not statistically significant, but I have summarized the people who are investing and those who are not investing according to the amount of savings they asked.

Savings ranged from people with more than 10 million yen to less than 1 million yen.

From what I heard this time, many people tended to say that they would not invest if their savings were small.

The expert's view is

Based on the voices gathered in this interview, we asked two experts.

Naoko Ogata, a senior researcher at the Japan Research Institute, who is familiar with household trends, said, "In addition to starting with a small amount of NISA, information is increasing on SNS etc., so the skirt is expanding regardless of the amount of savings. "There is."

She also pointed out that she "should be aware that investing involves risks. You should study and understand the pros and cons yourself before you start."

Professor Satoshi Shimazawa of Kanto Gakuin University, who is familiar with economic policy, said, "For many people, I feel that salaries do not increase, and that the life of corona is cut down and there is no room for investment. It's not, but it's important to raise incomes first. "

Please tell us your opinion

How far will the flow of “savings to investment” that the government focuses on go?

Please send us your thoughts and opinions.

Click here for the submission form

(Good morning Japan Director Takumi Nagano Reporter Hiroshi Oguni)