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The story
Nikkei reports that sales of individual Japanese government bonds (JGBs) through four major online brokerages topped ¥540 billion in January–June 2026, a 4.4x jump from the same period a year earlier. Alongside SBI Securities, Rakuten Securities, and Monex Securities, MUFG eSmart Securities began offering them in November 2025, and the investor base is reportedly widening, especially among younger people. On 5ch, the thread mixed voices in favor — arguing these principal-guaranteed bonds beat a bank deposit — with skeptics noting that, unlike NISA holdings, interest on these bonds is taxable, and questioning the wisdom of locking in a fixed rate just as interest rates are rising. The discussion also touched on a bill from the Democratic Party for the People to make individual JGBs eligible for NISA’s tax-free treatment.
Online brokerages are ramping up sales of individual JGBs. The four major players’ combined sales for January–June 2026 topped ¥540 billion, 4.4 times the same period a year earlier. As a safe asset that still offers a guaranteed yield, the investor base is expanding, particularly among younger people.
We looked at January–June sales figures at the four brokerages offering individual JGBs: SBI Securities, Rakuten Securities, MUFG eSmart Securities, and Monex Securities. MUFG eSmart began handling them in November 2025. Rakuten Securities is also set to, this fall, 3…(continues in the paid edition — 638 characters remaining)
Nikkei, September 7, 2026, 11:12 JST (updated 11:17 JST)
Source: nikkei.com / Original article here
What people said
Might as well just buy stocks.
And it's not NISA-eligible either, so you get taxed on the interest income. Rate's 20.315%.
Stocks look like they're about to drop, though.
Rates are going to keep rising, so you'd think people would wait before buying.
Exactly this.
It's a country in decline, after all.
If investing guaranteed returns, the government would just be doing the investing itself…
Fine if you've got money to spare, but…
Better than leaving it in the bank.
It's not a gamble like stocks.
If it yields 3%, that's a good deal. Not many investments give you 3% a year.
But with rates about to rise, I question the other types.
You think it'll stay high for the next 10 years straight?
That's pure fantasy.
Guess it's watching your assets and living frugally till you die.
What the DPP is proposing
Add to NISA:
Include individual JGBs among NISA-eligible purchases, making the resulting gains tax-free.
Inheritance tax exemption:
Consider exempting JGBs held in NISA accounts from inheritance tax.
Goal:
Encourage a shift of household assets sitting idle in savings, and promote stable, mid-to-long-term asset building that keeps pace with inflation.
Current status
Some in the government and ruling party are cautious, worried it could become a tax dodge for the wealthy.
The Financial Services Agency is also wary of folding JGBs directly into NISA, since NISA's stated purpose is to promote a shift "from savings to investment" (i.e., investment in risk assets).
↑ Guess it all hinges on this.
They're basically building a workaround for rich people to dodge inheritance tax.
Wait
Inheritance tax too? (lol)
It's a bit better right now, like around 2.25.
Gold's pricey right now because of the weak yen, but you should buy it anyway — it'll never turn into worthless paper.
It'll just end up being a worthless rock, won't it.
It hit 5,600 and then dropped all the way to 4,400.
But that one's fixed-rate — isn't there a risk of losing principal?
Exactly this.
Are they betting long-term rates will keep shooting up insanely over the next few years?
But if that's really the case, the correct move right now is actually to not buy any JGBs at all and just wait.
I genuinely don't get why anyone buys the individual 10-year floating-rate bond.
Maybe it's people who are likely to cash out early?
Individual JGBs come with a cash bonus on top of the regular interest.
I'm about ready to take my gains and move them into individual JGBs to rebalance.
I bet a lot of people are doing the same thing.
Seems like money's flowing into MMFs worldwide — stocks are getting a bit of side-eye since everything can swing wildly depending on Trump. With the yen strengthening the way it is right now, foreign-currency MMFs are hard to buy into, so it's more like "guess I'll just buy JGBs."
I've got 500 in a NISA index fund and 1,500 in bonds.
Won't make me much money, but it gives peace of mind.
Long-term rates rise → bond prices fall → yields rise → buying now is a bad deal.
Got it?
And honestly, no matter how much they call it "principal-guaranteed," locking your money up for 10 years at a rate under 2% when inflation is expected to run above 2% is just ridiculous.
Individual JGBs can be cashed in after just one year, you know.
In exchange, they claw back a percentage of your last two interest payments, but that's a rounding error.
Maybe that's true if you're a time traveler from 10 years in the future lol
Turkish government bonds yield 30% on the long end, and not a single Turkish citizen is buying them.
Make it make sense (lit. "in Japanese, please" — a jab at an incoherent post)
Are you saying Japan won't last 10 years?
People who don't get this logic are exactly the suckers (kamo) this time around.
If you can't understand it, you're better off not touching bonds at all.
Just stick with a plain fixed deposit.
Background and points of debate
Individual JGBs come in three types — a 10-year floating rate, a 5-year fixed rate, and a 3-year fixed rate. In exchange for a guarantee against loss of principal, they fall outside NISA’s tax-free treatment, so interest is taxed at 20.315%. With the Bank of Japan currently in a rate-hiking phase and long-term rates trending upward, the freely traded “shin-madosen” JGBs sold over the counter have at times offered a higher yield than the individual 10-year floating bond, which split opinion in the thread over whether now is really the time to buy. This debate comes against the backdrop of a “JGB-NISA Bill,” submitted by the Democratic Party for the People to the House of Councillors in July 2026, which would add individual JGBs to NISA and exempt them from inheritance tax as well. The Financial Services Agency, which frames NISA as a program to promote investment in risk assets, remains cautious about the bill, and its fate could well affect future sales growth. The real question at the heart of this debate is how to weigh the peace of mind of a principal guarantee against the missing tax break and the opportunity cost of locking in a rate while further hikes loom.
※This article is excerpted and summarized from the 5ch (News Express+) thread “[Individual JGBs] Online brokerage sales top 4x as younger investors emerge as key buyers”.
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