0221 Wealth Gap in Japan Growing, Research Finds

Wealth Gap in Japan Growing, Research Finds

The wealth gap between the richest people in Japan and the rest of the population is getting bigger, according to new research.

The Nomura Research Institute (NRI) found that between 2011 and 2023, the value of the assets held by the "super rich" in Japan tripled.

The NRI described people with net assets of more than 500 million yen — which is almost $3.3 million — as "super rich."

It described people with net assets worth between 100 million yen and 500 million yen — about $650,000 to $3.3 million — as "rich."

The rich saw their assets double in value during the same 13-year period, the NRI said.

By the end of 2023, the value of the assets of Japan's rich and super rich had grown to 469 trillion yen, which is about $3.1 trillion.

Meanwhile, the rest of the country — about 80% of the population — saw their assets gain value at a much slower rate, about 42%.

According to Bloomberg, real wages increased in only three of the 13 years up to 2023. Real wage figures take into account the effect of inflation on the amount a person earns.

The NRI said that Japan's richest people were able to grow their wealth as a result of investment in stocks.

It added that the weak yen also helped increase the value of foreign assets held by the rich.

Experts suggest that the gap between the rich and the rest of Japan could get wider still, something that has been happening in some of the world's other wealthy nations.

Bloomberg reports that recent Japanese governments have made efforts to encourage a better distribution of wealth in the country. However, it also said that economic policies in the 2010s helped to increase the wealth of Japan's richest people.