EXCLUSIVE: Japan to Launch NISA Program for Children

Tokyo, Dec. 1 (Jiji Press)–The Japanese government and the ruling camp are considering launching a new investment program for children under the country’s new Nippon Individual Savings Account tax exemption framework, aiming to expand eligibility to those under 18, Jiji Press learned Monday. They are mulling plans to allow withdrawals under the NISA scheme for small-lot investments once children reach 12. The initiative is aimed at enabling more flexible asset management to meet needs such as university enrollment. Details will be worked out at the ruling parties’ tax system research commissions. The ruling camp led by the Liberal Democratic Party aims to include the NISA program for children in its tax system reform package for fiscal 2026. The investment program for children would lower the age limit for installment-type investments under the new NISA scheme, which was introduced in January last year. Under the proposed plan, NISA accounts would be opened in the children’s names, with funds gifted by parents or grandparents invested, so that the money could be used to prepare for expenses such as school enrollment or starting a new life. The old NISA also had a “junior NISA” for minors, but it failed to gain traction because withdrawals were generally prohibited until the children reached 18, leading to its abolition in 2023. Against this background, the government and the ruling camp of the LDP and the Japan Innovation Party (Nippon Ishin no Kai) are considering easing the age limit for withdrawals. There is a plan to set the annual investment limit for NISA for children at 600,000 yen, people familiar with the matter said. The new NISA program is composed of the installment investment quota, allowing users to purchase investment trusts with an eye to long-term asset building, and the quota for growth investments for buying individual stocks and other products. The Financial Services Agency and the Children and Families Agency have been calling for easing the minimum age limit for the installment investment quota. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]