Minimum age to open brokerage account to be lowered to 18

Tokyo, March 28 (Jiji Press)–Securities companies in Japan are set to lower the minimum age for opening accounts for investing in stocks without parental consent to 18 in April, according to to the reduction of the legal age of adulthood in the country.

The legal age of majority is expected to be lowered from 20 to 18 in April.

Meanwhile, the big banks are cautious about lowering the minimum age for taking out credit card loans from 20 to 18.

The lower minimum age for opening securities accounts would allow people to start building assets earlier by investing in stocks and mutual funds.

At the same time, there is a risk of incurring large losses after investing in financial products with large price fluctuations in an attempt to make quick gains.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]