Hey there, it’s Hirokichi! Here’s my New NISA (Japan’s tax-free investment account, expanded in 2024) update for August 2026. Both US and Japanese stocks had a strong month, and my portfolio value and unrealized gains both hit new highs.
This Month’s Result: ¥5,087,536 (+¥137,116 from Last Month)
As of the end of August 2026, my New NISA account was worth ¥5,087,536, with unrealized gains of +¥1,134,568. That’s up +¥137,116 from July’s ¥4,950,420.
My total contributions so far add up to ¥3,952,968. That means the roughly ¥3.95 million I’ve steadily invested has grown into ¥5.09 million. This is the first month my unrealized gains have topped ¥1.1 million. Of course, markets go up and down, so rather than trying to time the market, I keep quietly adding to my positions every month.
Breaking down the +¥137,116 monthly gain, the tsumitate (regular monthly investment) quota contributed +¥47,154 while the growth quota added +¥88,942 — this month, growth in the US ETFs did most of the heavy lifting.
Breakdown by Quota and Fund
New NISA has two separate quotas: the “tsumitate quota” for regular monthly investing, and the “growth quota” for larger, discretionary purchases. I use the tsumitate quota for monthly mutual fund purchases, and the growth quota for spot purchases of US ETFs and individual Japanese stocks.
Tsumitate quota (value: ¥1,617,384, gain: +¥494,735)
- eMAXIS Slim US Stock (S&P500): value ¥1,312,396 (gain +¥401,443)
- eMAXIS Slim All Country World Stock: value ¥210,978 (gain +¥76,978) — I’ve paused new contributions to this fund but continue to hold it
- Rakuten SCHD (Schwab US Dividend Equity Fund, quarterly): value ¥52,842 (gain +¥9,835)
- Tracers Nikkei 225 High Dividend 50 Index (odd-month distribution): value ¥41,168 (gain +¥6,479)
Growth quota (value: ¥3,470,152, gain: +¥639,833)
I hold two US ETFs: HDV (iShares Core High Dividend ETF, value ¥1,012,862, gain +¥247,892) and VYM (Vanguard High Dividend Yield ETF, value ¥1,393,014, gain +¥358,412), totaling ¥2,405,876 (gain +¥606,304). I didn’t add any new shares this month, so this growth came purely from price appreciation and yen depreciation.
I also hold 12 individual Japanese stocks including NTT, Nintendo, KDDI, Mitsui & Co., and Sumitomo Corporation, worth a combined ¥1,064,276 (gain +¥33,529). It was a month of mixed results: Skylark Holdings (+¥37,400) and Sumitomo Corporation (+¥6,719) led the gains, while Rakuten Group (-¥15,280) and Studio Alice (-¥10,600) lagged behind. Individual stocks carry a different kind of tension compared to steady index-fund investing.
How the Market Moved This Month
The S&P 500 rose about 3% in August. Falling oil prices boosted investor sentiment, and with 97% of S&P 500 companies having reported Q2 earnings, 86% beat EPS estimates — a strong showing overall. The so-called “Magnificent Seven” tech giants posted especially strong results, and that was the main driver behind the gain in my S&P500 fund.
The exchange rate mattered too. The dollar hovered in the upper ¥159 range against the yen at month-end, briefly touching the ¥160 level on some days. Long-term US interest rate movements and comments from Fed officials at the Jackson Hole symposium pushed the dollar higher at times, which boosted the yen value of my dollar-denominated assets — the S&P500 fund and the HDV/VYM ETFs.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 gained 4.01% for the month. Money flowed into high-priced stocks on AI and semiconductor optimism, and later in the month that broadened into value sectors like banks, autos, and utilities. Dividend stocks were more mixed, though — Tracers Nikkei High Dividend 50 posted only modest gains, while among my individual holdings Skylark Holdings rallied strongly and Rakuten Group and Oriental Land both lagged.
Worth a quick note on SCHD (the underlying benchmark for my Rakuten SCHD fund): after a strong run over the past year, its pace had cooled somewhat, but August’s broad US market strength gave it support too. High-dividend holdings tend to see slower price appreciation but let you collect dividends while holding long-term, which is why I pair them with more volatile individual stocks to balance out the portfolio.
NISA Explainer: What Makes Up the ¥18 Million Lifetime Limit
New NISA has a lifetime tax-free holding limit of ¥18 million. But you can’t just use the whole ¥18 million however you like — it’s split into two parts.
The tsumitate quota caps out at ¥6 million, and the growth quota caps out at ¥12 million (you can’t use the growth quota alone to reach the full ¥18 million). On the other hand, if you don’t use your full ¥6 million tsumitate allowance, you can shift that unused portion toward the growth quota instead (though the ¥12 million growth-quota cap itself doesn’t change). I still have plenty of room left across my funds, ETFs, and individual stocks, so I plan to keep investing at my current pace for now. One more thing worth knowing: if you sell a holding, the tax-free allowance it used gets restored starting the following year, so hitting the limit isn’t necessarily permanent.
Using both quotas isn’t just about maximizing the tax-free allowance — it also lets me separate “money that gets invested automatically every month without me thinking about it” from “money I choose to deploy on my own judgment.” That split means the automatic side keeps running steadily even when markets get rocky, while I can make more deliberate calls with the growth-quota side. For more details, check the Financial Services Agency’s official NISA page.
My Investment Plan Going Forward
For the tsumitate quota, I’ll keep contributing ¥5,000/month to eMAXIS Slim US Stock (S&P500), ¥2,000/month to Rakuten SCHD, and ¥3,000/month to Tracers Nikkei 225 High Dividend 50 — ¥10,000/month total, unchanged. No changes planned there for now.
The growth quota (US ETFs and individual Japanese stocks) isn’t on a fixed monthly schedule — I make spot purchases when I see a good opportunity. I didn’t add anything new in August, just watched my existing holdings move. I’ll keep looking for good entry points going forward, and I’m being especially cautious about timing any new US ETF purchases while the yen stays weak.
Wrap-up
August 2026 was a strong month for both US and Japanese stocks, and my New NISA account crossed the ¥5.08 million mark, with unrealized gains topping ¥1.13 million — my best result yet. Markets will inevitably swing month to month, and next month’s gains could easily shrink. Still, sticking to the same contribution amounts every month, without changing course, is clearly what got me here. There’s still a long way to go, but I’ll keep investing steadily at a pace I can sustain. See you next month with another honest update. No rush, just steady progress — see you next time!
Our full net worth breakdown is here: [Total Assets] August 2026
* This article is for informational purposes only and is not investment advice. Please invest at your own responsibility.
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