Japan Said to Plan Tax-Free Investing Program for Kids

Japan plans to create a version of its tax-free investment program for children by January 2016 in an effort to shift household wealth into the nation’s stock market, according to a person familiar with the matter.

The Financial Services Agency will this week request the expansion of the Nippon Individual Savings Account program, which started this year and is currently only available to people 20 or older, said the person, who asked not to be named because the plans are private. The FSA will also seek to increase the annual investment cap to 1.2 million yen from 1 million yen, the person said. The Finance Ministry is expected to decide on the requests by year-end.