i believe that, in japan, " investment in people " used to be considered a labor cost rather than an investment in the intangible asset of human capital. to build momentum in which wages continue to rise year after year, revitalizing such investment will be crucial, though it is an area where japan falls far behind the united states and europe ( chart 18 ). as dynamism in employment emerges and firms turn to more active investment in human capital, i expect this to strengthen the added - value output of individuals, and in turn that of firms, thus accelerating the virtuous cycle of income and prices. c. dynamism of household financial assets the third point necessary to increase household disposable income is the dynamism of household financial assets. although household financial assets in japan have grown to more than 2, 000 trillion yen, a breakdown of those assets shows that growth in equity and investment trusts has been lackluster. as of the end of march 1992, after the bursting of the bubble economy, japan's share of holdings of equity and investment trusts within overall household financial assets was 15 percent, and in the united states it was 37 percent. however, as of the end of march 2021, a wider gap has formed, with the share at 15 percent in japan and 51 percent in the united states3 ( chart 19 ). reflecting this trend, growth in household dividend income in japan has been more or less flat since the early 1990s. in the united states and germany, meanwhile, both employee income and dividend income are contributing to an increase in disposable income ( chart 11 ). data were obtained relating to the percentage ratio of equity and investment trusts of household financial assets. data for japan are from japan's flow of funds accounts released by the bank of japan, and those for the united states are from the financial accounts of the united states released by the federal reserve. when comparing japanese and u. s. data, it is necessary to take into account such factors as the difference in definitions of household assets and financial assets between the two countries. firms are not only places that provide employment and wages but also vehicles for creating added value. although employee income accounts for the bulk of household disposable income in japan, most people can only work for a single employer. therefore, to reap the benefits of the growth of many firms outside their own places of work, including that of listed firms, people have to invest. if

2, 200 tril. yen financial assets ( total ) cash and deposits equity investment trusts 2, 000 1, 800 2. 3 2. 5 2. 6 1, 600 27. 3 29. 0 otherあ 33. 8 insurance, pension, and standardized guaranteesああ 18. 2 equity 9. 6 investment trustsああ 10. 5 1, 400 1, 200 4. 2 1. 4 1, 000 あああ 37. 8 1. 8 debt securities fy 90 % 54. 0 13. 2 4. 2 34. 3 cash and deposits 13. 3 japan united states euro area notes : 1. in the right panel, " other " is the residual after deducting " cash and deposits, " " debt securities, " " investment trusts, " " equity, " and " insurance, pension, and standardized guarantees " from total financial assets. 2. also in the right panel, figures for the united states and the euro area are from " flow of funds : overview of japan, the united states and the euro area, " released by the bank's research and statistics department on august 20, 2021. source : bank of japan.