# Young Japanese who rode AI boom flaunt wealth with luxury buys > Source: > Published: 2026-07-16 01:42:00+00:00 As the artificial intelligence frenzy propels Japanese equities to a fourth year of gains, young investors who have ridden the boom are starting to flaunt their good fortune. The benchmark Nikkei 225 index has surged over 30% so far this year, and many of the winners are first-time investors who piled into stocks with the help of the government’s revamped tax-free savings program. Now, Generation Z shoppers are spending their returns on luxury items such as jewelry and sports cars, signaling a growing appetite for conspicuous consumption. The shopping spree may be good news for the retail sector, but it also reveals a deepening societal divide. While the stock rally mints a cohort of nouveau riche, those with fewer assets are being left behind, creating a new generation of haves and have-nots and exposing the increasingly uneven nature of Japan’s economic revival.