Japan equity flow monitor (August 2026)

Research evidence excerpt

Japan equity flow monitor (August 2026)

Global Markets Research

Japan equity flow monitor (August 2026) 31 July 2026

EQUITY: JAPAN STRATEGY

Support for household asset formation unlikely to have Research Analysts

immediate impact, but could be effective over long term Tomoharu Kurosu - NSC tomoharu.kurosu@nomura.com

Support for equity supply–demand from nonfinancial corporations and individual investors +81 3 6703 3875

/ Limited impact on equities from measures to promote JGB holdings Tomochika Kitaoka - NSC

tomochika.kitaoka@nomura.com

(This report summarizes the key points set out in our 31 July 2026 report JapanEquity +81 3 6703 1815

FlowMonitor(ChartBook)August2026.)

Pension funds: Limited impact from DC and iDeCo enhancements, expectations for

GPIF to overhaul asset allocation

The growth strategies and financial strategies published on 21 July identified expanding

corporate defined contribution (DC) and iDeCo plans as a priority for promoting household

asset formation, with discussions under way on revising contribution limits and expanding

product offerings. As of end-March 2026, DC assets stood at ¥27.8trn, versus ¥71.7trn in

defined benefit (DB) assets, but the broad trend of a shift from DB to DC plans of around

¥1.5–2trn per year continues, and the number of DC enrollees has surpassed that of DB

enrollees (Figure1). DC and iDeCo allocate more to equities (at 39.5% and 50.9% of

assets, respectively) than do DB plans (23.2%). Given the current small scale, however,

we estimate that the impact on equity supply–demand would be limited even if DC and

iDeCo enrollment increased by several million people. There has also been speculation

that the Government Pension Investment Fund (GPIF) could increase the weighting of