Japan household savings show wide gaps between average and median

Recent data from the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications and the Financial Intelligence and Education Promotion Agency (J-FLEC) reveal significant disparities in Japanese household savings and living expenses.

For two-or-more-person households, the average savings balance reached 20.59 million yen in 2025, a 3.8% increase from the previous year. However, the median value for households with savings is significantly lower at 12.64 million yen. Approximately 66.1% of all households fall below the average, indicating that a small number of high-wealth households are driving the mean upward.

Demographic breakdowns show sharp differences based on household composition. Among individuals in their 20s, the median financial asset holding for single-person households is only 370,000 yen, compared to 1.25 million yen for two-or-more-person households.

Living expenses also vary widely by income. While the national average monthly living expense for two-or-more-person households is approximately 314,000 yen, households earning over 15 million yen per year spend more than 590,000 yen monthly, representing a 3.4-fold gap compared to those earning under 2 million yen.