TOKYO - Summer bonus season is approaching, but with inflation remaining high, many are wondering how they will spend their extra income. A recent street survey gathered views on how people plan to use their bonuses.
Among companies planning to pay or increase bonuses, 38.4% of large firms and 33.0% of small and medium-sized companies (including 27.0% of small businesses) reported increases. The average bonus per full-time employee stands at 457,000 yen, up 18,000 yen from the previous year.
Some companies remain cautious, such as one information service firm that cited uncertainty over potential Trump-era tariffs. "We're holding back this summer due to the unclear outlook. If tariffs don't impact us, we may compensate for the lower summer payout with a higher winter bonus," a company representative said.
In a street interview by N-STA, one person shared that they spent 120,000 yen on a sofa. But overall, how are most people planning to spend their summer bonuses?
According to a survey by household finance advisory service Okaneko, the most common uses for summer bonuses are: savings and deposits at 65%, asset building such as NISA or real estate investment at 49.3%, travel and dining at 28.1%, and daily living expenses also at 28.1% (multiple answers allowed).
Banks are also launching limited-time offers to attract bonus deposits. Tokyo Star Bank is offering an annual interest rate of 0.91% for one-year deposits through internet banking for amounts starting at 500,000 yen, available until the end of June. SBI Shinsei Bank has raised its rates to 1.10% annually for five-year deposits from June 13, for internet customers investing at least 300,000 yen.
As for personal investment strategies, Inoue shared his approach: "I allocate 80% to asset building and keep 20% aside, but I don’t have any particular use for it. Do comedians have something similar to a bonus?"
Matsui Kemuri from Reiwa Roman replied: "We don't get bonuses as such, but maybe prize money from competitions is close. For example, I won the M-1 Grand Prix two years in a row in 2023 and 2024. I gave all the 10 million yen prize money from 2023 to my partner Takahira Kuruma. The 10 million yen I won in 2024 came in a few months ago, but I’ve mainly been spending it on younger colleagues, taking them on trips or covering their drinks. I see investing in juniors as a kind of asset building."
In some companies, bonuses are still handed out in cash to express personal gratitude directly. In Tokyo, one company’s president has been personally handing bonuses to employees since its founding. However, there was once an incident where one yen went missing, prompting the company to recount around 200 envelopes to find the missing coin. With the company’s growth, cash payments are now limited to winter bonuses. Until 2018, even salaries were handed out in cash.
Inoue commented, "That must be tough, but it might foster a stronger sense of unity." Matsui added, "Some talent agencies still pay in cash occasionally. I think Ohta Production was doing it until fairly recently." Announcer Izumi Mai noted, "When the envelope gets thicker, it really feels like you’ve worked hard." Matsui joked, "I hear some high earners get nervous carrying it home." When Inoue asked Matsui how much he earns, Matsui laughed: "I’m not saying that. Don’t try to turn this into a news scoop."
Source: TBS
