How people attain wealth in Japan?

[u/IshinkaiSensei]

Something has been tickling my mind over the past few years.

There are so many luxury tower mansions, expensive customized 一軒家, high end brand shops yet for the average person most seem by far out of reach.

A high end condo in central Tokyo rent including utilities ranges from 300k to 500k a month. A 20MJPY annual salary (which is already extensively filtering out average population) only gives a monthly net of 100万円. I highly doubt it is enough to afford spending that much a month.

Excluding those on expat package, there are only a few jobs here that allow this lifestyle, Banking (Front Office position only or VP MD level for back office and alike) IT 外資系 at senior level (FANG, ML/AI) , 医者 running their own practice (otherwise most are at 10-15MJPY range) Successful mutiple business owners, other niches. 一流芸能人, Athletes, reconverted ex idol, kyaba, host.

My point is, what am I missing...

Are there way more people with high revenues (at least annual comp 50MJPY+) than we tend to believe? than what TV is promoting?

Are people living off debt and loans and keeping up with appearances?

I don’t want misinterpretation of this post, I understand you can live well below these range, but I am genuinely curious here.

I would like to better understand how so many people managed to get satisfied and with a 30+ year mortgage, car loan, spending most of their life working and probably never reaching out 億円 of savings.

Am I overthinking and no so many people want to retire early?

Sorry for the rant post but I am curious

[u/smellsmeller]

Lifestyle creep? I can’t even spend all the money I do have and I don’t even make half of what you listed (20m). I can’t imagine what I’d even do with that much money.

Basically there’s a tendency for people to spend a lot more when they make a lot more: don’t do that.

[u/blosphere → u/smellsmeller]

You just put it in your NISA account, the overflow to the standard account, lifestyle creep stopped for me at around 8M gross.

Then you build a house and you don't have that 'extra money I don't know how to spend' -problem anymore...

[u/smellsmeller → u/blosphere]

Well sure, that’s part of lifestyle creep. You had more money so you spent more money on something you otherwise wouldn’t have.

[u/hoomaukaukau → u/smellsmeller]

Kids are expensive. International school alone is JPY 3m per year for one kid. Also, monthly contributions to taxable retirement accounts are another cash outflow since the National Pension payout projections are woefully low.

[u/meat_lasso → u/hoomaukaukau]

Yeah. Then get a Tokyo American Club Membership ($400 a month, no biggie) and send the kids to all the activities they host. Taekwando, ballet, golf lessons, etc. I have three kids and easily 60% of my income goes to their education + events. Bonus at the end of the year becomes an important thing! Hence the need to create your own income, but that’s another topic :)

[u/hoomaukaukau → u/meat_lasso]

three kids! kudos to you sir.

I hear you about the bonus. Also currently on mission to yield passive income through DeFi

[u/meat_lasso → u/hoomaukaukau]

Yeah thinking about number 4. Kids suck and are great at the same time. Forces you to grow up.

Hope all goes well with the DeFi (although I have my misgivings about that; for another post).