Benchmark

Japan’s Expanding Economy Hides Wealth Disparity

Many households have few financial assets or savings
The Tokyo Tower, center, and commercial and residential buildings stand at dusk in Minato district of Tokyo, Japan.Photographer: Akio Kon/Bloomberg
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Not everybody is celebrating Japan’s seven-straight quarters of economic expansion.

The headline-grabbing gains in exports, corporate profits and financial markets that have marked the last few years have done little to change a longer-term trend that’s brought disparity between those Japanese who hold assets, and those who don’t.