Japan sleeps on 30 trillion in cash
In case you were wondering why Japanese burglars only take cash during break-ins and why Tokyo’s home burglary rate is one of highest in the developed world….
Home cash savings hit 30 trillion yen, says Bank of Japan
August 23, 2008 / Mainichi Japan ….An expert attributes the increase in cash savings to the instability of the financial market. “It’s difficult to invest money in shares because of recent confusion in the financial market. I think people feel secured when they keep their assets in their own hands,” said Hideo Kumano, chief economist at the Dai-Ichi Life Research Institute...more…
Japan’s 50 million households divided by 30 trillion yen = 1,666,666 yen per household; that’s piles of cash stuffed in their futon bed of more than $15,000 USD per household.
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August 23rd, 2008 at 6:39 pm
Yeah Taro, the level burglaries is so high here in Tokyo that most people never report thefts unless they can file an insurance claim (which of course is not possible with cash in most cases).
However, jistec.or.jp warns that:
I like that warning about Japanese pantie thieves as well as housewives stealing each others clothes pins like demented magpies.
August 23rd, 2008 at 9:56 pm
ok, where’s mah 1,666,666 yen (even I would put an S for this quantity)… OMG… number of the beast… nearly… and twice…
August 23rd, 2008 at 11:46 pm
Maybe it’s in your purse were the average 40-to-60 year old Japanese housewife carries 230,000 yen in cash. That was the claim on an NHK TV program a few years ago.
(For all you wanna-be muggers: 230,000 yen = $2,000 USD.)