Financial assets held by households rose 3.3 percent from a year earlier to a record ¥1.90 quadrillion ($18 trillion) at the end of December due largely to higher stock prices at the time, the Bank of Japan said Wednesday.
The figure marked a year-on-year gain for the first time in three quarters, but is expected to fall in the January-March quarter due to a sharp fall in stock prices amid global market turmoil caused by the coronavirus outbreak.
By asset type, equities, which account for 11.1 percent of overall household assets, climbed 13.5 percent to ¥211 trillion, and investment trusts increased 10.9 percent to ¥74 trillion.
Cash and deposits gained 2.3 percent to ¥1 quadrillion, while debt securities rose 5.5 percent to ¥26 trillion.
Assets held by companies, excluding financial institutions, grew 6.9 percent to a record ¥1.24 quadrillion, reflecting higher share prices.
The outstanding balance of Japanese government bonds rose 1.9 percent to ¥1.13 quadrillion. The BOJ's holdings climbed 3.6 percent from a year earlier to ¥495 trillion, or 43.7 percent of the total.
Overseas investors owned 12.8 percent of government bonds, with their holdings valued at ¥145 trillion, up 4.9 percent from the previous year.