Why Japan’s New Wealthy with 100 Million Yen in Assets Still Choose to Work and Ignore FIRE Trends
As a result of the global era of excess liquidity and rising Japanese stock prices, there is a group of so-called accidental millionaires who, while remaining ordinary company employees or civil servants, have exceeded 100 million yen in assets. Even though they fully meet the conditions for the much-discussed online concept of “FIRE,” why do they choose to continue working and maintain their usual lifestyles? This is a continuation of an article on the reality of the new wealthy, based on insights from Katsuhisa Takahashi, CEO of Malibu Japan, who has written a new book titled “No Hospitality Needed for the Ultra-Wealthy” (Kodansha+α Shinsho) and is well-versed in the behavior of wealthy individuals.
No reason to quit! An overly comfortable workplace
A lives in Tokyo and works at an IT company. He lives with his wife and elementary school-aged child in a house along the Keio Line. After his child was born, he began regularly investing in Japanese stock index funds as a way to support future education expenses, and also allocated most of his bonuses to individual stocks. As a result, before turning 40, his financial net assets had significantly exceeded 100 million yen, enough for him to retire early (FIRE). However, he continues to work as before, wearing Uniqlo with his family and occasionally drinking with colleagues at casual izakaya-style pubs.
“There’s simply no reason to quit—my current workplace is comfortable compared to the past,” A says with a smile.
For salaried workers in their 50s and 60s who experienced the Showa and Heisei eras, the workplace was a battlefield: packed commuter trains every day, suits and ties or uniforms, and dull offices where they worked from early morning until late at night. Harsh demands from bosses and clients, as well as what would now be considered power harassment or sexual harassment, were common.
In contrast, today’s work environment has improved dramatically. According to A, “Our office has introduced free-address seating, with sofa seats and high counter tables. There are also plants and art pieces, making it feel like a café and very comfortable.” Flexible working hours have eased the burden of rush-hour commuting, and working from home is possible several days a week. Employees are no longer required to wear uniforms or suits, and casual clothing is allowed.
While workplace stress, harassment, and human relations issues have not completely disappeared, government-led work-style reforms have improved conditions compared to the past.
For the “new wealthy,” the workplace is no longer a harsh or stressful environment, but a relaxed and comfortable one—so there is no strong reason to quit.
For A, going to work is not a burden or hardship, but rather a “third place” that offers a balance of moderate tension and a comfortable environment. Even after surpassing 100 million yen in financial assets, there is simply no need to give up such a pleasant place by retiring early.
Dream life, why I got bored after 3 months
“Why he got bored of the dream life in just three months”
Seeing flashy videos of FIRE achievers online, social media is filled with admiration and envy for a life that looks like an endless summer vacation.
Of course, there are many people who, even after achieving FIRE, live fulfilling lives—taking on new challenges, traveling domestically and internationally, and enjoying a sense of fulfillment.
However, there are also people for whom FIRE did not turn out to be the ideal they imagined. B (38), living in Tokyo, is one such person. While working as a researcher at a major pharmaceutical company he joined as a new graduate, he leveraged his strong creditworthiness to start real estate investments using bank loans. Thanks to steady rental income and profits from rising property prices, he surpassed 100 million yen in financial assets in less than 10 years.
He initially achieved his long-desired FIRE, but says he became bored with the “dream-like lifestyle” in just three months. Once he stopped working, he found himself with too much free time and began to feel socially isolated. After a year, he went through job hunting again and was hired by a mid-sized pharmaceutical company, where he works today.
According to B, “100 million yen is, of course, a large amount of money. But it’s not enough to live every day staying in luxury foreign hotels, flying business class around the world, and eating at Michelin-star restaurants every night. If you did that, your assets would run out quickly.”
He also said that travel and meals are enjoyable because of the people you share them with—partners, family, and friends. However, because those people were still working, schedules didn’t align, and differences in lifestyle and values grew, causing many relationships to fade.
Even if one had enough wealth to live in luxury hotels every day, travel the world in business class, and dine at Michelin restaurants daily, human nature tends to adapt and grow bored. If every day becomes like summer vacation or Sunday, then the special feeling of summer vacation or Sunday disappears.
Unable to endure loneliness, a barrier to re-employment
On the other hand, B says that being part of a large organization called a company allows him to participate in global projects that would be impossible to engage with as an individual, and that having a company business card enables him to meet well-known figures in the industry. He also says that the sense of unity and excitement when a team achieves its performance targets is something irreplaceable.
Of course, once you quit a company, returning is difficult. Even though B had prior experience working at a major pharmaceutical company, he still received multiple rejection emails—perhaps because employers were concerned about his employment gap (and he could not exactly say he had been enjoying a FIRE lifestyle). He eventually managed to get re-employed one year later.
As in B’s case, there are real examples—seen and heard on social media—of people who achieved FIRE but could not endure boredom and loneliness and eventually returned to work in some form. Observing these cases leads new wealthy individuals to conclude that it may be better to keep their jobs and maintain their connection to companies rather than pursuing FIRE.
The reality is that even with 100 million in assets, they are scared of a crash
The majority of new wealthy individuals did not build a fortune of 100 million yen simply by steadily saving their salaries or being frugal.
The biggest factor that turned them into “millionaires” was success in asset management and real estate investment. Whether it was surging AI-related stocks such as Nvidia, holdings in semiconductor-related stocks like Kioxia, or rising real estate prices in central Tokyo, their wealth expanded largely due to favorable tailwinds in the market.
However, earning large returns in financial and real estate markets also means that, unless all assets are kept in extremely low-risk instruments such as fixed deposits or government bonds, there is always the possibility that their wealth could significantly decline in the future due to geopolitical risks, natural disasters, or financial crises as markets fluctuate daily. Of course, spending reduces assets, and inflation can also erode their value.
In such a situation, what happens if someone confidently quits their job right after achieving FIRE and becomes unemployed? Unless they are in their 20s or 30s, once they sever their career in midlife, it is not easy to find re-employment at the same salary level or conditions.
The new wealthy are aware that their current financial status was made possible by favorable market conditions. Precisely because of this awareness, they choose to continue working in order to secure a stable cash flow through salary income, preparing for worst-case scenarios.
The purpose of working is mental stability
The new wealthy can calmly brush off unreasonable demands from their bosses by thinking, “Well, I already have 100 million yen. Worst case, I can quit anytime.” This state of being able to “leave anytime” is, in terms of mental stability and freedom from anxiety, actually very important.
To digress slightly, the reason harassment such as power harassment, sexual harassment, and moral harassment does not disappear from workplaces can be said to lie in the fact that employees cannot easily leave their jobs. Creating labor market fluidity through a more active job-switching environment should be one of the most important policies, as it would improve wages, productivity, and working conditions.
Ironically, people who no longer need to work for money tend to behave more calmly and fairly in organizations, working in a natural and unhurried manner. This, in turn, leads to better human relationships and evaluations, making the workplace even more comfortable. The new wealthy are, in a sense, caught in such a positive cycle.
Even if they had 100 million yen, they would still go to work tomorrow
For the new wealthy, financial assets of 100 million yen are not so much war funds for luxury spending, but rather a form of security that ensures psychological freedom. What matters is being able to think, “I can quit anytime,” and “I don’t have to worry about retirement.”
“I’ll go to the office as usual tomorrow. The office is comfortable, and the beer I drink with colleagues after work tastes great,” says A with a smile. B also says that his research and development work at the company is fulfilling.
These smiles may symbolize the new wealthy who choose not to pursue FIRE.
Interview and text： Katsuhide Takahashi
Born in Gifu Prefecture in 1969, Katsuhide Takahashi is the Representative Director of Malibu Japan Co. After working for Mitsubishi Bank, Citigroup Securities, Citibank, and others, he established the company in 2013. He has visited more than 60 countries around the world. He is an expert on resorts in Japan and abroad, including the Bahamas, Maldives, Palau, Malibu, Los Cabos, Dubai, Hawaii, Niseko, Kyoto, and Okinawa. He graduated from Keio University in 1993 with a bachelor's degree in economics and received a master's degree in economics from Aoyama Gakuin University in 2000. His many publications include "Bank Zero Era" (Asahi Shimbun Publications), "Why Only Niseko Became a World Resort" (Kodansha + alpha Shinsho), "The Extinction of Regional Banks" (Heibonsha), and "Super Rich People Do Not Need 'Omotenashi'" (Kodansha + alpha Shinsho).
PHOTO： Afro (2nd photo)