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パチンコ式の投資
今年に入って日本の株式市場が落ち込んでいる。貯蓄率の高さでは有名な日本だが、国民の株への関心は薄い。多くは銀行などにお金を預けて、自らの判断で貯金を動かしていないからだろう。しかし、パチンコ産業の急成長ぶりを見ると、まんざら"賭け事"に興味がないとは思えない、と筆者は考える…。
Investing Pachinko-Style
By GWEN A. ROBINSON
When Japan's stock market was plunging early this year, a visiting American friend of mine expressed amazement at the general lack of public alarm. If this were New York and the stock market were crashing, he said, you'd really know about it; everyone would be talking.
That reminded me of the remarkable disparity in stock ownership between the U.S. and Japan. Equities, or stocks, represent little more than 6 percent of the financial assets directly held by an average Japanese household. That compares with about 20 percent in the U.S. Of course, most Japanese indirectly invest in capital markets through the country's massive pension funds and life insurers.
But in terms of direct investment decisions, ordinary Japanese seem content to put their money into postal savings or other large institutions and then let those institutions make the real investment decisions. This is what produces another striking disparity: Japan's personal savings rate overwhelms that of all other advanced countries.
This conservative approach to savings and investment might indicate a cautious attitude toward money in Japan. A reluctance to gamble perhaps? But then, look around at the tremendous following which pachinko, commonly referred to as "Japanese pinball," has developed.
First-time visitors to Japan are always surprised to see these gaudily decorated emporiums dotted throughout every city. The visitors are particularly bemused to hear about the informal gambling structure ― how prizes can be converted under-the-counter into cash.
According to recent news articles, pachinko is now drawing an increasingly diverse range of Japanese customers, from young mothers to teenagers. Could this indicate a growing recklessness?
I think it is just another result of the country's attitude toward investing. When you make the silver balls whirl around in a pachinko machine, you're taking a risk with your money, sure. But it's the sort of risk that carries no responsibility. There are few decisions required in the playing of pachinko except whether you're going to put more money in or not. That's the same as putting all your money in a large institution which makes all the investment decisions for you.
And now, as more financial institutions collapse or founder as a consequence of their bad decisions, many more ordinary people are losing. Directly investing in a stock market, or any other form of capital market, means taking on responsibility. You have to make your own decisions about when and what to buy and when to sell.
In Japan I think the day is still far off when falling stock markets will draw strong reactions from the general populace.
When Japan's stock market was plunging early this year, a visiting American friend of mine expressed amazement at the general lack of public alarm. If this were New York and the stock market were crashing, he said, you'd really know about it; everyone would be talking.
That reminded me of the remarkable disparity in stock ownership between the U.S. and Japan. Equities, or stocks, represent little more than 6 percent of the financial assets directly held by an average Japanese household. That compares with about 20 percent in the U.S. Of course, most Japanese indirectly invest in capital markets through the country's massive pension funds and life insurers.
But in terms of direct investment decisions, ordinary Japanese seem content to put their money into postal savings or other large institutions and then let those institutions make the real investment decisions. This is what produces another striking disparity: Japan's personal savings rate overwhelms that of all other advanced countries.
This conservative approach to savings and investment might indicate a cautious attitude toward money in Japan. A reluctance to gamble perhaps? But then, look around at the tremendous following which pachinko, commonly referred to as "Japanese pinball," has developed.
First-time visitors to Japan are always surprised to see these gaudily decorated emporiums dotted throughout every city. The visitors are particularly bemused to hear about the informal gambling structure ― how prizes can be converted under-the-counter into cash.
According to recent news articles, pachinko is now drawing an increasingly diverse range of Japanese customers, from young mothers to teenagers. Could this indicate a growing recklessness?
I think it is just another result of the country's attitude toward investing. When you make the silver balls whirl around in a pachinko machine, you're taking a risk with your money, sure. But it's the sort of risk that carries no responsibility. There are few decisions required in the playing of pachinko except whether you're going to put more money in or not. That's the same as putting all your money in a large institution which makes all the investment decisions for you.
And now, as more financial institutions collapse or founder as a consequence of their bad decisions, many more ordinary people are losing. Directly investing in a stock market, or any other form of capital market, means taking on responsibility. You have to make your own decisions about when and what to buy and when to sell.
In Japan I think the day is still far off when falling stock markets will draw strong reactions from the general populace.
Shukan ST: Feb. 7, 1997
(C) All rights reserved
- stock market
- 株式市場
- was plunging
- 落ち込んでいた
- expressed amazement at 〜
- 〜 に驚いていた
- general lack of public alarm
- 一般国民に恐怖や心配の気持ちがないこと
- were crashing
- 暴落した
- reminded 〜 of 〜
- 〜 に 〜 を思い出させた
- remarkable disparity in stock ownership
- 株式所有の目立った違い
- Equities
- 普通株
- represent 〜
- 〜 に相当する
- financial assets
- 財産
- household
- 世帯
- compares with 〜
- 〜 と比較することができる
- invest in 〜
- 〜 に投資する
- capital markets
- 資本市場
- massive
- 巨大な
- pension funds
- 年金基金
- life insurers
- 生命保険会社
- in terms of 〜
- 〜 から見ると
- investment decisions
- 投機への決断
- ordinary
- 一般の
- seem content to 〜
- 〜 に満足しているようだ
- put their money into 〜
- 〜 に預ける
- postal savings
- 郵便貯金
- institutions
- 機関
- let 〜 make 〜
- 〜 に 〜 をさせる
- striking
- 目立った
- personal savings rate
- 個人の貯蓄率
- overwhelms 〜
- 〜 をしのぐ
- conservative approach to 〜
- 保守的な 〜 のやり方
- indicate
- 表している
- cautious
- 慎重な
- reluctance to 〜
- 〜 したがらないこと
- tremendous following 〜
- 〜 に夢中になる大勢の人
- 〜 commonly referred to as 〜
- 〜 と一般的に呼ばれている 〜
- gaudily decorated emporiums
- けばけばしく飾りたてた建物
- 〜 dotted throughout 〜
- 〜 の至る所に点在する 〜
- (are)bemused
- 当惑する
- informal
- 非公式な
- gambling structure
- ギャンブル形態
- prizes
- 景品
- be converted(into 〜 )
- 〜 に交換される
- under-the-counter
- 法の網の目をぬって
- news articles
- 報道記事
- (is)drawing 〜
- 〜 を引きつけている
- increasingly
- ますます
- diverse range of 〜
- いろいろな層の 〜
- growing recklessness
- つのりつつある無謀さ
- whirl around
- ぐるぐる回る
- (are)taking a risk with
- 危険を冒している
- (is)the sort of 〜
- that 〜 @ 〜 のたぐいの 〜 だ
- carries no responsibility
- 一切責任が伴わない
- financial institutions
- 金融機関
- collapse
- 破産する
- founder
- 失敗する
- as a consequence of 〜
- 〜 の結果として
- are losing
- 損をしている
- (is)far off
- 遠い
- falling 〜
- 暴落する 〜
- general populace
- 一般大衆
-