Photo/Illutration The Bank of Japan’s head office in Tokyo’s Chuo Ward (Asahi Shimbun file photo)

The outstanding balance of financial assets held by Japanese households broke the previous record high for the fifth straight quarter to hit nearly 2,000 trillion yen ($17.62 trillion) as of the end of September, according to the Bank of Japan.

The BOJ on Dec. 20 released preliminary figures on the Flow of Funds Accounts for the third quarter of the year. The data shows the outstanding balance of financial assets rose 5.7 percent year on year to 1,999.8 trillion yen.

BOJ officials attributed the sharp rise in the figure largely to government COVID-19 subsidies and rising share prices.

They also said the household assets held in cash and deposits increased due partly to the tendency to spend less as people are being asked to refrain from going out as a precaution against the novel coronavirus.

Of the 1,999.8 trillion yen, 1,072 trillion yen was held in cash and deposits, 539 trillion yen in insurance, pension and standardized guarantees, 335 trillion yen in securities and 54 trillion yen in other forms of assets.

It took more than three years for the outstanding balance of financial assets to rise from the 1,700 trillion yen to the 1,800 trillion yen range. The figure topped 1,900 trillion yen more than three years later.

But the figure climbed close to 2,000 trillion yen in just nine months from the end of December 2020.

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