Tsujii, a great-grandfather who's had mutual funds and savings with Daiwa for 20 years, is the kind of customer financial institutions are seeking to attract, even if he doesn't buy any new products.
"The service itself doesn't make money for Daiwa, but instead allows money to remain within the company," said Kazuhiro Hosoda, managing director at Daiwa's wealth management division. "Profits will likely expand in the future."
But even as the sector grows, death remains the elephant in the room for those selling the products. Marketing materials use phrases such as "preparing for the future" or "memories for your family," and sellers tread carefully when meeting customers.
"We discuss inheritance not in terms of "what will you do when you die?" but rather in terms of how you can leave assets to your family," said Takayuki Konno, a marketing manager at Mizuho responsible for inheritance-related services.
"It's a practical problem that people want to solve." ($1 = 106.1800 yen)