Research Institute

Japan
Figure 1
Wealth per adult over time
USD 300'000
USD 250'000
Little change
USD 200'000
USD 150'000
USD 100'000
The Japanese economy had a somewhat difficult year, with
GDP stalling and the yen declining by 17%. Measured in US
dollars, wealth per adult fell 15%, but this mainly reflected
exchange rate depreciation. In domestic currency terms
average wealth rose 3%.
Despite falling behind over the years in the wealth per adult
rankings, Japan still ranks third after the United States and
China in terms of aggregate wealth. It began the new century
with wealth per adult of USD 191,900. Average wealth today is
1% lower in US dollar terms, but 6% higher when measured in
yen. This slow growth is due to the combined effects of the
poor stock market performance until recently, low interest rates
and investment income, house prices that have been on a
downward trend since the 1990s and a reduced saving rate.
The decline in property values means that financial wealth is
now the major component of household wealth, making up
61% of gross assets. Debts have been declining and are
modest by international standards, at 14% of total assets.
Japan has a more equal wealth distribution than any other
major country, as reflected in a Gini coefficient of 63%.
Together with its high average wealth, this relative equality
means that few individuals have assets below USD 10,000.
The proportion of the population with wealth above
USD 100,000 is six times the global average. At the turn of the
century, Japan was a close second to the USA regarding the
number of residents in the top 10% and top 1% of global
wealth holders. Japan retains second place, but the gap has
widened considerably.
USD 50'000
USD 0
2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010 2012 2014
Wealth per adult
Wealth per adult at constant exchange rate
Figure 2
Composition of wealth per adult
USD 250'000
USD 200'000
USD 150'000
USD 100'000
USD 50'000
USD 0
-USD 50'000
Financial Real Debts Net worth
Figure 3
Wealth distribution relative to world (in %)
80
Country summary 2015
Population 126 million
Adult population 104 million
GDP 60,261 USD per adult
Mean wealth 190,230 USD per adult
Median wealth 96,071 USD per adult
Total wealth 19.8 trillion USD
Dollar millionaires 2,126 thousand
Top 10% of global wealth holders 58,734 thousand
Top 1% of global wealth holders 3,417 thousand
Quality of wealth data good
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
9.0
42.3
USD 1m
Japan
World
48 Global Wealth Report 2015
Source: James Davies, Rodrigo Lluberas and Anthony Shorrocks, Credit Suisse Global
Wealth Databook 2015