The Bank of Japan estimates that its accelerated sales of exchange-traded fund holdings will generate about ¥1 trillion ($6.33 billion) in additional annual proceeds, Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama said on Tuesday.

Katayama said the central bank had presented the estimate, although the exact amount transferred to the government would depend on year-end calculations and budget procedures.

“The BOJ has indicated additional proceeds of roughly 1 trillion yen, but the exact amount that will be remitted to the government will depend on fiscal year-end calculations and budget procedures, so we can't say precisely how much it will be,” Katayama said.

Faster sales from January

The Bank of Japan decided on 30 October to increase annual sales of its ETF holdings to ¥860 billion from ¥330 billion on a book-value basis, with the faster pace starting in January 2027. The move shortens the estimated time needed to dispose of the portfolio from about 112 years to about 43 years.

The bank began buying ETFs in 2010 as part of its monetary easing programme, expanded purchases sharply in 2014 and again during the pandemic in 2020, and stopped buying in March 2024. Sales of the holdings began in January 2026, and officials have said the disposals so far have caused little market disruption. On the bank's own calculation, the faster pace represents only about a thousandth of trading value on the Tokyo Stock Exchange's Prime Market, and the market-value equivalent of the annual sales is about ¥2.46 trillion.

Proceeds earmarked for growth spending

Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi told parliament on Friday that the extra proceeds from the ETF sales represent gains from Japan's economic growth and that reinvesting them in crisis management and growth areas is appropriate. She has said the government will direct the money towards spending on growth areas, including those deemed critical to Japan's economic security, helping to finance her policy agenda without relying so heavily on new debt.

Analysts have offered their own estimates of the windfall: Bloomberg Economics put the additional annual revenue at about ¥800 billion, below the Bank of Japan's own estimate of roughly ¥1 trillion presented to the finance minister.

Katayama stressed that decisions on ETF sales and other monetary policy operations remain the sole responsibility of the Bank of Japan under the central bank law. A portion of the central bank's annual net profit, including gains from ETF sales, is transferred to the government.