Japan's Super Rich Are Getting Richer Under Abenomics

(Bloomberg) -- The number of super rich households in Japan has almost doubled since 2011 to a record high, thanks to rising stock prices and an economic expansion, an indication that this segment of society has benefited from Abenomics.

The number of households with net financial assets of at least 500 million yen ($4.4 million) rose to 84,000 last year, according to biennial data compiled by Nomura Research Institute stretching back to 2000. That indicates that the super rich account for about 0.16 percent of Japan’s total households.

The figure may further fuel criticism that Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s economic policies have mostly helped to make the rich richer, leaving the larger populace with more mixed feelings about the performance of his administration.

Still, the proportion of super rich lags other developed economies and may not have expanded at the same pace this year with stocks falling across the world, leaving Japanese equities at their lowest level in 18 months.

To contact the reporter on this story: Toru Fujioka in Tokyo at tfujioka1@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Brett Miller at bmiller30@bloomberg.net, Paul Jackson, Henry Hoenig

©2018 Bloomberg L.P.