Rakuten Securities said its general securities account base crossed 14 million in April, with the online broker adding 1 million accounts in roughly five months as Japanese households continue shifting cash deposits into stocks, funds, and tax-advantaged investment wrappers.Singapore Summit: Meet the largest APAC brokers you know (and those you still don't!)The Minato-ku-headquartered firm, a unit of internet conglomerate Rakuten Group, said the figure makes it the largest domestic securities company by total non-consolidated accounts, based on its own aggregation of publicly disclosed data from rivals. Five Months for Each Million as Pace QuickensThe latest milestone follows a steady cadence of account growth at Rakuten Securities over the past two and a half years. The broker, founded in 1999 as Japan's first online-only securities firm, hit 10 million accounts in December 2023, 11 million in April 2024, 12 million in January 2025, and 13 million in November 2025. The roughly five-month gap between the 13 million and 14 million marks tracks the pace seen earlier in 2024 and 2025.President and Chief Executive Yuji Kusunoki has overseen a product push aimed at lowering entry barriers for first-time investors, including making domestic stock trading commission-free in October 2023 and rolling out a service the firm calls KabuPita, which lets retail customers buy Japanese shares from 100 yen in 1-yen increments.The company also said it has introduced AI-driven analytical tools for Japanese and US equity investing, a margin trading product branded Rakuraku Credit, and Rakuten Money Fund, an MRF-style cash management vehicle. On the security side, the firm said it has rolled out passkey authentication based on the FIDO2 standard across its trading tools and apps.SBI Remains the Rival Question Mark in Account TalliesRakuten's claim to the top spot in Japan's online retail brokerage market comes with a methodological caveat the company itself flags. SBI Securities, widely cited by the industry and partners as Japan's largest online brokerage, does not publicly disclose its individual account count. Rakuten's comparison uses an SBI figure dating to the end of March 2021, while pulling fresher numbers from Nomura Securities and Daiwa Securities, which report customer accounts with remaining balances, and SMBC Nikko, which discloses total accounts.International brokers have also been pushing harder into the market. Interactive Brokers launched tax-advantaged NISA accounts through its Japanese unit in mid-2025, pitching access to more than 160 global exchanges as a differentiator against domestic incumbents. Beyond securities, Japan's broader retail trading ecosystem includes more than 150 licensed FX and securities providers, with names such as GMO Click Securities, DMM FX, and Monex Group dominating retail FX volumes alongside Rakuten. This article was written by Damian Chmiel at www.financemagnates.com.

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