"I've cut back on eating out, stopped buying clothes, and even quit going to idol concerts."
A woman in her 30s working in Tokyo, identified as A, saw her life change dramatically after she began making monthly investments of 30,000 yen (about 280,000 won) through NISA (Nippon Individual Savings Account) in August 2024, according to the Yomiuri Shimbun on Tuesday. To fund her investments, she has been steadily cutting back on everyday spending such as dining out and clothing.
In Japan, a new term — "NISA binbo" (NISA poor) — referring to young people like A who live extremely frugal lives in order to invest in NISA, has been spreading as a social phenomenon.
NISA is Japan's small-investment tax-free account that exempts the roughly 20.3% tax on capital gains and dividends from stocks and investment trusts. It was introduced in 2014, modeled after the United Kingdom's ISA (Individual Savings Account).
Following a 2024 system overhaul, the annual investment limit was expanded to a maximum of 3.6 million yen, and the limits for installment investments and growth investments can now be used in combination. With no restrictions on the tax-free holding period, an individual can manage up to 18 million yen tax-free over a lifetime.
The Japanese government's significant expansion of the program has two backgrounds: to change the structure in which household assets are excessively tied up in deposits and savings, and to supplement the pension system shaken by low birthrates and an aging population, encouraging citizens to prepare for retirement on their own.
Pursued as part of the Kishida government's "Doubling Asset-Based Income Plan," the program is now estimated to have enrolled roughly one in five Japanese citizens.
The response has been explosive. In 2024, the program's first year under the new rules, monthly new sign-ups averaged 530,000 — three times the previous year's monthly average of 180,000. The number of NISA accounts at the 10 major securities firms reached 17.86 million at the end of November 2025, up 30% from 13.55 million at the end of January 2024.
The problem is that investment fever has begun eating into everyday spending. According to a survey by SMBC Consumer Finance, the average monthly investment by Japanese in their 20s rose from 23,589 yen in 2023 to 29,678 yen in 2025, an increase of more than 6,000 yen.
In contrast, monthly allowance over the same period fell from 37,096 yen to 32,159 yen, while spending on hobbies and leisure declined from 19,027 yen to 16,596 yen.
The issue has even been raised in parliament. At the House of Representatives Committee on Financial Affairs in March, Democratic Party for the People lawmaker Ken Tanaka pointed to the NISA poor phenomenon, saying, "The 20s are an important period when one should also invest in oneself."
Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama responded, "It was never intended that accumulation itself would become the goal," adding, "How to spend income should also be included in financial education."
The base of investment culture itself is broadening. In Dai-ichi Life Insurance's "Future Career Aspirations Survey" this year, "investor" entered the top 10 for male high school students for the first time. Bloomberg evaluated this as a sign that Japan's long-pursued shift "from savings to investment" is becoming a reality.
South Korea operates a similarly structured Individual Savings Account (ISA), but the scale of benefits differs significantly. Korea's ISA has an annual contribution limit of 20 million won and a total tax-free limit of 100 million won, smaller than Japan's (about 34 million won annually, with a total of about 169 million won).
To receive the tax-free benefit, account holders must meet a mandatory three-year holding period, and the structure favors switching accounts after three years, resulting in a high termination rate. With President Lee Jae-myung instructing officials to prepare tax benefits for long-term domestic stock investors, expanding the ISA tax-free limit is being discussed as a leading alternative.
