The Bank of Japan says financial assets held by individuals in the country hit an all-time high, largely due to higher stock prices.

The bank's quarterly survey found that the total amount of assets including cash savings, securities and insurance reached 2,121 trillion yen, or about 14.7 trillion dollars, at the end of September. That's up 5 percent from a year earlier.

Equity holdings jumped 30 percent and investment trusts rose 17 percent. The amount of both types also climbed to a record high in yen terms.

BOJ officials cite growing interest in the soon-to-be-expanded NISA tax exemption program for individual investors as another factor that pushed up the total figure.

The Japanese government is encouraging people to invest more, rather than just saving money. Cash and deposits account for over half of all individual financial assets in the country.