The balance of personal financial assets stood at 1.425 quadrillion yen at the end of June, up 3 percent from a year earlier, as a rise in stock prices increased appraisal gains on securities holdings, the Bank of Japan said Wednesday.
The rise marked the fourth quarterly consecutive increase. The amount of assets was the largest since the end of June 2001, when the balance stood at 1.441 quadrillion yen, the central bank said in a preliminary report.
The balance of assets in stocks and equities surged 34.8 percent to 121.6 trillion yen, while that in investment trusts soared 15.3 percent to 34.5 trillion yen, according to the report.
The balance of cash and deposits, which amount to more than half of personal financial assets, posted a slight increase of 0.2 percent to 784.6 trillion yen, with time and savings deposits decreasing 1.7 percent.
A BOJ official said elderly people in particular withdrew money from their deposit and savings accounts.