Japan Inc. Holds Italy-Sized Cash Pile as Abe Urges Spending

Japan’s companies stockpile of cash reached a record in the first quarter as they poured investment abroad, underscoring Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s challenge to boost the nation’s investment and wages.

Private companies’ cash and deposits rose 5.8 percent from a year before, to 225 trillion yen ($2.4 trillion) -- an amount in excess of the size of Italy’s economy or the liquid assets held by American firms, Bank of Japan data showed in Tokyo. Businesses held 55 trillion yen in direct investment abroad.