Savings Day

What Is Savings Day?

October 17 is Savings Day in Japan. It was established in 1952 when the Central Council for Savings Promotion was founded. The council later became the Central Council for Financial Services Information, and in 2024 its work was taken over by the newly created Japan Financial Literacy and Education Corporation (J-FLEC). The date comes from Kanname-sai, the festival at which the year's new rice is offered to the gods, and the day aims "to value the fruits of labor and raise interest in saving."

Kanname-sai and Savings Day

Savings Day links gratitude for the harvest with preparing for the future.

• What is Kanname-sai? It is one of the most important festivals at Ise Grand Shrine, held every October. The year's new rice is offered to the sun goddess Amaterasu in thanks for the harvest. At the Imperial Palace, the Emperor also performs a ritual on October 17 to worship Ise Grand Shrine from afar.
• Saving seed rice: In farming, it is essential not to eat the entire harvest but to keep seed rice for the next year's planting. The idea that savings lead to the next harvest applies to saving money today.
• Postwar savings campaigns: In postwar Japan, household savings are said to have flowed through banks into corporate investment and supported economic growth. The founding of the Central Council for Savings Promotion was part of that movement.

Trivia About Money Sayings

Some familiar sayings about saving have surprising backgrounds.

• Did Einstein really call compound interest humanity's greatest invention? This quote is widely repeated, but there is no reliable record of Einstein saying it, and it is thought to be a later invention.
• The Richest Man in Babylon: The book known for the advice "save one-tenth of your income" is not an ancient text. It is a collection of financial parables written in 1926 by American author George S. Clason.
• The Rule of 72: Dividing 72 by the annual interest rate (in percent) gives a rough estimate of how many years it takes to double your money. At 3%, it takes about 24 years; at 6%, about 12 years.

Savings Trivia

• Pay yourself first: Move a set amount to a separate account as soon as you get paid, and live on the rest. This is said to work better than saving whatever is left over.
• Emergency fund: Keeping several months of living expenses in savings for sudden illness or job loss is commonly recommended.
• Mental accounting: This behavioral economics concept describes our tendency to spend windfall money more freely, even though all money has the same value.
• NISA and iDeCo: Japan offers NISA accounts, where investment gains are tax-free, and iDeCo, where contributions are tax-deductible. Details are available on the websites of J-FLEC and the Financial Services Agency.
• Review fixed costs: Canceling unused subscriptions or reviewing insurance is a one-time task that keeps saving money month after month.

Ideas for Savings Day

• List the balances of your bank and brokerage accounts to get a clear picture of your assets.
• Set up an automatic transfer for savings, or review the amount.
• Sort your monthly spending into "needs," "enjoyment," and "investment in the future."
• Cancel one subscription you don't use.

A Day to Give Thanks and Prepare for the Future

Savings Day on October 17 is a day of harvest and preparation, named after Kanname-sai, the festival of thanks for the harvest. You don't need a big goal — checking your account balances or setting up automatic savings is enough. Why not start one thing today for your future self?