Cash-strapped Japanese monks turn to investing as inflation worsens
Temples are buying bonds, stocks and other assets as funeral income falls and upkeep costs rise, with some portfolios returning more than 10% a year.
7 Articles
7 Articles
Why Japanese monks are turning to stocks, US treasuries and real estate
Japanese Buddhist temples are turning to financial markets as a solution to their increasing maintenance expenses. With fewer members and reduced income from funeral services, these spiritual institutions are now exploring investments in stocks and bonds to generate necessary funds. This evolution highlights their struggle to preserve religious integrity while ensuring fiscal sustainability.
AGI - More and more Japanese Buddhist temples turn to the financial markets to cope with the rising maintenance costs and the decline of the faithful, overturning a habit of generations. The Japan Times reports this, citing the case of Koukyo Yoneta, a fifth-generation Buddhist monk in a small town in Hokkaido, who instead of waiting for donations that the faithful cannot afford has invested as much as already collected to finance the works on h…
Last month, a shrine in Hyogo Prefecture became the first in the Kinki region to go bankrupt. In fact, local shrines and temples are currently facing a crisis of survival. There are approximately 180,000 religious corporations in Japan, but the number of believers supporting them has decreased by more than 30 million in the last 17 years, and some estimates suggest that "by 2040, more than one-third of religious corporations nationwide will be a…
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