Japanese households sitting on $579-billion ‘hidden assets’
Japanese households have an estimated 90.53 trillion yen ($579 billion) worth of “hidden assets” or unused goods left untouched for more than a year, a recent survey by online flea market operator Mercari Inc. showed.
Fashion items make up 33.6 percent of the total, followed by hobby and leisure goods, including toys and outdoor gear, at 22.2 percent, and books, music and game items at 21.2 percent, according to the survey of 2,400 people conducted in October.
The sum was calculated based on average transaction prices on the Mercari app.
In particular, people in the Chubu region, which includes Nagoya, had the highest amount of hidden assets at an average of 898,765 yen per person, followed by the Kinki region, which includes Osaka, at 805,086 yen. The two regions are known to have relatively larger homes and higher incomes.
Unused goods
The survey, which also asked respondents about their plans to get rid of unused goods, also found nearly 10 trillion yen worth of items may be discarded by the end of 2025.
“There is more value lying dormant in daily life than people realize,” said Naoko Kuga, senior researcher at the NLI Research Institute who oversaw the survey. “If people can manage goods like financial assets, it can create more room for household budgets.”
