Young Japanese who rode AI boom flaunt wealth with luxury buys

Young Japanese investors who rode the AI-driven stock market boom are flaunting their wealth with luxury purchases, including jewelry and sports cars. The Nikkei 225's 30% surge has created a new class of wealthy Gen Z investors, but the spending spree highlights a growing societal divide as those without assets are left behind.

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.