Hey there, it’s Hirokichi!
My total net worth for June 2026 came to 10,411,890 yen. That’s up 186,730 yen (+1.83%) from last month – my second straight month above the 10 million yen mark, and a new all-time high. On paper it looks great, but the truth is our household budget runs a deficit every month. So this time I’ll be honest about that side of things too.
This Month’s Result: 10,411,890 yen (Up 186,730 yen)
Let me start with the bottom line. My net worth at the end of June was 10,411,890 yen, up 186,730 yen from 10,225,160 yen the month before – a gain of +1.83%.
As the trend chart shows, over the past year – from about 7.05 million yen in June 2025 – the line has climbed steadily. There’s no dramatic spike, but the slow, consistent accumulation has quietly delivered a new record high, and I’m relieved to see it.
Asset Breakdown: iDeCo Is the Largest at 35%
Now for what’s inside.
The breakdown looks like this:
(1) iDeCo (SBI Securities): 3,675,961 yen (35.3%)
(2) US ETFs (Rakuten Securities, NISA Growth): 2,430,838 yen (23.3%)
(3) Mutual Funds (Rakuten Securities, NISA Tsumitate): 1,535,311 yen (14.7%)
(4) Junior NISA (kids’ accounts, Japan’s discontinued children’s tax-free account): 1,099,075 yen (10.6%)
(5) Japanese Stocks (Rakuten Securities, NISA Growth): 933,905 yen (9.0%)
(6) Bond ETF (SBI Securities, Taxable): 736,800 yen (7.1%)
A quick note for readers outside Japan: iDeCo is Japan’s individual defined-contribution pension plan (a tax-advantaged account for retirement savings), and NISA (Japan’s tax-free investment account) has two frames – a “Tsumitate” frame for regular fund investing and a “Growth” frame for stocks and ETFs.
iDeCo now makes up just over a third of everything and has become the pillar of our assets. It’s all in a single fund – eMAXIS Slim US Equity (S&P 500). Years of steady contributions have grown it into the biggest block.
What Moved the Needle: A Look Back at the Market
June was honestly a rough month in the markets.
In the US, the S&P 500 finished the month around 7,499, down about 1.3% – snapping a two-month winning streak from April and May. (Even so, for the first half of 2026 it’s up 9.5%, roughly its long-term average pace.) Japan’s Nikkei was just as nerve-wracking: it pushed to record highs early in the month, tumbled hard mid-month, then rebounded into month-end.
The reason my assets still finished in the black was largely the weak yen. The dollar climbed to the mid-161 yen range in June, and although reports of US-Japan finance minister talks pulled it back toward a stronger yen near month-end, the overall trend was yen weakness. Even when US stocks were slightly down in dollar terms, the exchange rate filled the gap in yen terms. Since I hold plenty of US ETFs and iDeCo (which is S&P 500 inside), I got the direct benefit of that yen weakness.
Quick Notes on Each Asset
iDeCo remains the workhorse, steadily growing on a single S&P 500 fund.
For US ETFs, I hold 215 shares of HDV (iShares Core High Dividend), 53 shares of VYM (Vanguard High Dividend Yield), plus 4 shares of SPCX (a SpaceX-linked play). Mostly solid high-dividend holdings, with a small dash of something more speculative.
My mutual funds (Tsumitate frame) are a four-fund lineup: S&P 500, All-Country, Rakuten SCHD, and Tracers Nikkei High-Dividend 50. My Japanese stocks are small positions in familiar domestic names like NTT, Oriental Land, Nintendo, and KDDI – nothing flashy, but I enjoy the dividends and shareholder perks.
The Plan Ahead: Cut the Contributions, but Never Stop
Here’s what I most wanted to write about this month.
This spring, my daughter (now in 8th grade, prepping for high school entrance exams) and my son (6th grade, prepping for junior high entrance exams) both started cram school. We want to invest in their education, so to free up that money I’ve sharply cut my contributions. Specifically, from April I dropped my NISA contribution from 35,000 to 10,000 yen a month, and my iDeCo from 20,000 to 5,000 yen a month.
On top of that, with prices rising, I’ll be honest: our monthly household budget is now in the red. Even after cutting contributions, we’re still running a deficit, and it’s made me realize a budget overhaul is essential. The reason I’ve decided never to drop contributions to zero is that the past few years taught me firsthand how much it matters to stay in the market, even with small amounts. Lower the number if I must, but don’t get off the track. This is the moment to grit my teeth and hold the line.
Next month, my goal is to take stock of the household budget – fixed costs first – and shrink that deficit even a little.
Summary
June 2026 closed at 10,411,890 yen (up 186,730 yen), a new all-time high. Even with choppy markets, the weak yen helped, steady contributions did their part, and I finished in the black.
If there’s one takeaway this month, it’s this: even when a change in your life stage forces you to cut contributions, don’t exit the market entirely. Tough stretches where education costs squeeze the budget come for everyone, but as long as you keep going – even a little – the foundation for compounding stays intact. No rush, but no giving up either. Fix the budget, and keep investing bit by bit. See you next time!
* This article is for informational purposes only and is not investment advice. Please invest at your own responsibility.
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