A new report shows that people in Japan are sitting on a record pile of financial assets. It credits a surge in stock prices as the main factor.
The Bank of Japan's quarterly report to June says assets such as deposits, stocks and investment trusts exceeded 1,847 trillion yen, or about 16.5 trillion dollars.
The amount was up for the second year in a row. It's a record for the 2nd quarter in yen terms.
Cash and deposits increased by 2 percent year on year. Stocks and other investments were up almost 9 percent. Investment trusts rose nearly one percent.
The report says the value of government bonds held by the Bank of Japan increased to just over 4 trillion dollars. The BOJ owns about 42 percent of all government bonds. It has been buying them as part of its monetary easing program.
