反对意见集中在所谓「NISA 贫穷」：在政界与媒体的框架中，部分年轻人被指过度投入NISA（日本个人储蓄帐户）而压缩日常消费。NISA 目前每年可免除资本利得税（20%）的存入额度为3,600,000日圆（约美金22,500）。近六年NISA帐户数量翻倍，已超过2800万，其中约三成属于30岁前后族群；自2024年1月扩编后，日经225指数上涨了60%，恰逢日本结束负利率且通货膨胀抬头，制度与市场共同放大了参与动能。另有批评指出，资金偏好S&P500或全球指数型基金而非日本本土资产、且可能加剧既得资金者优势。
专栏作者将「NISA 贫穷」视为世代间消费观争论的延续，而非全面性风险警讯，较类似先前对「年轻人不买车」式的不满。实证面向更显示行为正常化：截至2025年底，18年来首次家庭金融资产中现金占比低于50%；日本证券业协会的问卷显示，在20岁初期族群中，认为有价证券投资必要的人数在不足十年间几乎倍增；日本民众对自身理财能力有信心者仅13%，但实际测验结果与美国64%自信者之族群，能力分数几乎持平。专家结论倾向将注意力放在提高青年可支配所得而非抑制其退休前储蓄，尤其在平均16岁者都见证日经225上涨五倍的环境中。
Against the backdrop of volatile global markets, Japanese young people are adopting risk assets at an unprecedented pace, signaling a structural shift in savings behavior. In an annual survey by Dai-Ichi Life Insurance Co., “investor” appeared for the first time in the top 10 career choices among high-school boys. Among women, interest is also rising in practice, with people aged 25 to 29 more likely than peers to own securities, suggesting that financial aspiration among youth is broadening beyond traditional demographics.
Critics describe a potential downside under the term “NISA poverty”: young people are said to be allocating too much to the Nippon Individual Savings Account (NISA) and neglecting current spending. NISA now allows up to 3.600 million yen (about $22,500) per year to be invested tax-free from capital gains tax at 20%. In six years, NISA accounts have doubled to over 28 million, including about one in three people in their 30s. After the expansion in January 2024, the Nikkei 225 rose 60%, helped by the end of negative rates and rising inflation. Concerns also target portfolio bias toward S&P 500/world funds over domestic securities and inequality effects favoring households with investable surpluses.
The column argues this is more generational friction than a systemic crisis: yesterday’s generation once complained about today’s consumption patterns, not unlike past claims that young people do not buy cars. Data indicates transition rather than collapse. At end-2025, for the first time in 18 years, cash made up less than 50% of household financial assets. A survey by the Japan Securities Dealers Association shows those saying securities investment is necessary nearly doubled in under 10 years, with sharp growth among people in their early 20s. Only 13% of Japanese report confidence in financial knowledge versus 64% of Americans, yet both score similarly in competence tests. The author concludes policymakers should focus more on raising take-home pay than on disciplining young savers, especially as the average 16-year-old has seen the Nikkei 225 rise fivefold over their lifetime.