Finance & economics | In the nick of time

As the Nikkei 225 hits record highs, Japan’s young start investing

Will more now favour domestic stocks?

A young woman in Japan checks her phone while standing in front of a screen displaying financial data.
Photograph: Alamy
|Tokyo

Saito Mari, a 28-year-old nurse, was frustrated. Her pay, at just ¥160,000 ($1,100) a month, was meagre; after bills, rent, shopping and a few holidays, she had little left over. So in 2020 she decided to buy some stocks. “I used to think it was too risky,” says Ms Saito, who learned about investing via books and YouTube. “But it was amazing to see my assets grow.”

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This article appeared in the Finance & economics section of the print edition under the headline “In the nick of time”

From the February 24th 2024 edition

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