As a result of rising stock prices and other factors, household financial assets reached a record high as of the end of March this year, due to increased balances of stocks and investment trusts.

According to the “Flow of Funds Statistics” released by the Bank of Japan today, as of the end of March this year, financial assets such as deposits, stocks, and insurance held by households increased 7.1% from the same period last year to 2,199 trillion yen.

This marks the fifth consecutive quarter of record highs.

The main factor was an increase in balances of stocks and investment trusts due to rising stock prices. Compared to the same period last year, “stocks, etc.” increased by 14.2% to 313 trillion yen, and “investment trusts” increased by 5.4% to 119 trillion yen.

On the other hand, as of the end of March, the balance of government bonds, which are the national debt, held by the Bank of Japan was 576.1836 trillion yen, and the Bank of Japan’s holdings were 53.25%.

Although this has fallen from 53.78% at the end of last year, it still remains at a high level.

Regarding the Bank of Japan’s holdings of government bonds, the unusual situation has continued in which the Bank of Japan has held more than half of the government bonds for seven consecutive quarters since exceeding 50% for the first time at the end of September last year.