This paper shows, using data from the Family Income and Expenditure Survey, that housing credit has become increasingly available over time in Japan, especially since 2000, and that this has made it easier for Japanese households to purchase housing and enabled them to do so at an earlier age....

In this paper, we analyze the borrowing behavior of Japanese households in comparison to the other Group of Seven (G7) countries and also broken down by the age group of the household head. We find that pre-retirement households (households with a head in the 50-59 age group) in Japan do not...

This paper presents data on Japan’s household saving rate, considers the reasons for Japan’s high household saving rate in the past and the reasons for the recent decline therein, projects future trends in Japan’s household saving rate, and consider the implications of my findings. It...