Why do people save? A micro-analysis of motives for household saving in Japan

This paper estimates the contribution of net saving for each of twelve motives to overall household saving in Japan using micro data from a Japanese Government survey and finds that net saving for the retirement and precautionary motives, both of which are consistent with the life-cycle model, are of dominant importance. It also finds that the saving motives of Japanese households vary greatly by age and that they save at each life stage for motives that are appropriate for that life stage. These findings suggest that the life-cycle model is highly applicable in the case of Japan.