It's been a year with a lot of news about rising prices, but what kind of measures have you taken? Let's look back on events related to money. ■ The most interesting money news is "Price increase of food and daily necessities" Caster Masatoshi Nanba: First, let's look at the ranking of "Most interesting money news in 2024" (survey by Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, targeting 600 men and women in their 20s to 40s). The most common answer was "Price increase of food and daily necessities," with about 44% of people answering. [Most interesting money news in 2024] 1st place: Price increase of food and daily necessities, etc. (tie) 2nd place: New NISA launch (tie) 2nd place: Accelerating depreciation of the yen 4th place: Minimum wage increase to highest ever 5th place: Issuance of new banknotes 6th place: Increase in postal and delivery fees 7th place: Tightening of regulations for hometown tax donations 8th place: Bank of Japan lifts negative interest rate policy 9th place: Nikkei average stock price reaches new highest point in history 10th place: Fixed amount tax cut These are words that are just like 2024. Chiaki Horan: Is there any news about money that has left an impression on you, Nakata-san? Atsuhiko Nakata: I also made the weak yen the theme of my YouTube video, and the number of views exploded, so I thought people were interested in it. Another thing is the lifting of the negative interest rate policy by the Bank of Japan. I thought that this historic lifting would bring about a drastic change, and I also have the impression that they are working hard, such as raising the minimum wage, but it is clear that this is not connected to reality. Takahiro Inoue: Until now, I have the impression that there was not much financial education in Japan, including my generation, and that many people saved money in search of zero risk. However, with the launch of the new NISA, I feel that more people are thinking about investing even if it means taking a little risk. In Singapore, where you live, do you feel that there is anything different about financial education compared to Japan? Atsuhiko Nakata: It is true that Singapore is known as a "financial international city." However, I don't have the impression that financial education is being taught extensively in schools, as it is something that individuals and families do properly. However, rents have also risen sharply in Singapore, and prices are also rising, so I don't think the weak yen is the only reason. Chiaki Horan: Looking at Japan from the outside, is there anything about Japan that makes you think, "I wish Japan was more like this, if we changed this, Japan would grow a lot"? Atsuhiko Nakata: I think it would be good to reduce taxes substantially on the "1.03 million yen wall," which is still an issue, and to lead to people's expectations that things will get better in the future. ■Government's measures to combat rising prices "flat-rate tax cuts" What do experts say about their effectiveness? Anchorman Minami: Speaking of measures to combat rising prices, there is the "flat-rate tax cut," which was ranked 10th in the previous ranking and attracted a lot of attention in June. This was a tax cut of 40,000 yen per person per year, combining income tax of 30,000 yen and resident tax of 10,000 yen. The target is taxpayers (salary income of 20 million yen or less) and their dependents, and former Prime Minister Kishida also said, "I want people to experience the virtuous cycle of the economy and an income that can withstand rising prices," and implemented this policy. Meanwhile, Saisuke Sakai, Chief Japanese Economist at Mizuho Research & Technologies, analyzed that "the flat-rate tax cut had some effect, but people are becoming more frugal as prices continue to rise, so it seems that the money has not been fully circulated into consumption." ■ "10% return with QR code payments" Tokyo's measures to combat rising prices come to an end ahead of schedule Caster Minami: Furthermore, as a measure to combat rising prices, Tokyo is running the "More! Support Your Life Tokyo Genki Campaign." This campaign offers a maximum return of 12,000 yen in points for four QR code payments, including "PayPay." What did people in the city spend their money on to get the points? Man (30s): "Well, I guess I bought lunch boxes. I didn't buy anything really expensive." Man (20s): "I use (QR code payment). I'm going to have lunch now, so I'm going to look for a restaurant that offers point redemption and eat there." Some people also took advantage of the Tokyo campaign and the point increase benefit, and got about 1,000 points. On the other hand, some people are reluctant to use QR code payment... Woman (70s, Tokyo resident): "I've used (PayPay) before, but I don't use it regularly." Woman (20s, Tokyo resident): "I don't understand it at all. I still only use cash. It's a pain to introduce something new." Minami Caster: Tokyo's point redemption campaign will run until 11:59 p.m. on December 24th. If you use the designated QR code payment at a designated store, you can get up to 10% back (up to 3,000 yen). The first round of this campaign was already held in March, and about 15.31 million people used it, and it ended a week early. The budget was 9.1 billion yen, and the number of target stores was about 350,000. This second campaign is also scheduled to end three days ahead of schedule, but the budget is... (https://newsdig.tbs.co.jp/list/articl... ▼TBS NEWS DIG Official Website https://newsdig.tbs.co.jp/ ▼Please subscribe to our channel! / @tbsnewsdig ▼Information provided by "TBS Insiders" https://www.tbs.co.jp/news_sp/tbs-ins... ▼Video provided by "TBS Scoop Post" https://www.tbs.co.jp/news_sp/toukou.... #News #news #TBS #newsdig