Abbot Hironori Yoneta, 46, leads the 130-year-old Kongo-ji temple in Urausu, Hokkaido. Following the pandemic, the temple experienced a significant drop in income, while renovation costs soared. To secure funding, Yoneta opted to withdraw all donated savings and reallocate them into profitable investment channels.

Having worked at Daiwa Securities Group until 2014 before becoming a monk, Abbot Yoneta observed significant financial market volatility since 2024, driven by inflation. He expressed concern that the temple's cash reserves would depreciate if they remained idle in a bank.

Applying his financial acumen, he allocated capital to US government bonds, Japanese real estate investment trusts (REITs), and shares of major corporations like BYD and Hyundai. This portfolio generated an average 10% annual profit over the past two years. These earnings helped the temple cover a portion of its 25 million yen (approximately 4 billion dong) renovation costs and upgrade various facilities.

Abbot Hironori Yoneta of Kongo-ji temple performs a prayer ritual (Urausu town, Hokkaido). *Photo: Kongo-ji*

The situation at Kongo-ji temple reflects a broader reality for Japanese Buddhism. Data from the country's Culture Agency indicates a 14% decrease in Buddhist followers over the past two decades. A rapidly aging population and the younger generation's growing detachment from traditional rituals have led to a shrinking pool of donations.

Traditionally, the main income for temples came from funeral services and grave maintenance. However, since the pandemic and amid inflationary pressures, many families now choose minimalist funerals, sometimes even forgoing the practice of purchasing a posthumous Buddhist name for the deceased.

A 2021 survey by the Jodo Shinshu Hongwanji-ha sect, covering 7,000 temples, revealed that approximately half of these institutions had annual revenues below 4 million yen (about 625 million dong). The situation is more dire in rural areas, where many monks concurrently serve as abbots for several temples, often supplementing their income by working as teachers or local civil servants.

Tsuyoshi Kawata, an expert at SMBC Nikko Securities, noted that Buddhist organizations historically prioritized holding cash for security. However, with escalating costs, asset management and investment have become essential for temples to sustain themselves without increasing the prices of spiritual services.

Navigating doctrinal boundaries

Despite the economic benefits, investing temple funds causes many monastics concern. Buddhist doctrine encourages people to renounce material greed, creating a delicate balance between investing for temple preservation and for pure profit.

In Nara province, construction and worship item production costs doubled in two years, compelling Daian-ji temple to increase the price of good luck charms since April. To address economic challenges without violating precepts, Deputy Abbot Yusho Kono, also a former finance professional, adopted a defensive investment strategy. He keeps most assets in cash, allocating only 10% to low-risk foreign currency insurance packages.

"Investment income is only permitted for the purpose of temple preservation, not for seeking pure profit", Kono stated.

This caution is well-founded, as many religious organizations have faced setbacks in the market. In 2013, the Koyasan Shingon-shu sect incurred substantial losses from bond investments.

Currently, with the Bank of Japan ending its negative interest rate policy, safer investment channels are emerging. The Soto-shu sect, which manages 15,000 temples, decided to allocate 10% of its 13 billion yen asset fund to Japanese government bonds and 2% to bonds from the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).

Abbot Hironori Yoneta believes that transparent financial planning is crucial for the preservation of ancient temples. In addition to chanting, he offers free personal finance management classes to local residents, thereby strengthening the bond between the temple and the community.

Minh Phuong (According to Bloomberg, Japan Times)