Japan’s National Wealth Hits Record of $27 Trillion Driven by Increased Building and Land Values

Japan’s national net worth reached 3.999 quadrillion yen ($27 trillion) at the end of 2022, the highest tally in comparable data going back to 1994, according to government data released.

The 3.3% increase on the year marked a seventh straight year of growth, reflecting higher material costs that boosted the value of items like homes and capital goods.

The Cabinet Office breaks down the figure, also known as national wealth, into three main categories: produced assets such as roads, housing and equipment; non-produced assets, encompassing land and natural resources; and net foreign assets. Domestic financial assets are offset in the calculation by an equal amount of liabilities.

Produced assets were the largest category, coming to 2.17 quadrillion yen when inventories are excluded, up 4.1% from 2021.

Non-housing buildings and structures grew 4.5% to 1.27 quadrillion yen, housing climbed 2.3% to 472.4 trillion yen, and machinery and equipment rose 5.9% to 251.9 trillion yen.

Non-produced assets – mostly land – climbed 2.4% to 1.31 quadrillion yen on higher land prices. Net foreign assets edged up 0.1% to 421.8 trillion yen.

Households held the majority of Japan’s national wealth at the end of 2022, with 2.85 quadrillion yen. This 0.5% rise from 2021 appears to owe partly to an increase in cash and deposits from government support such as child care aid.

Nonfinancial companies’ share of the total jumped by nearly a quarter to 756.1 trillion yen.

Source: Nikkei Asia