The drama series “Private Banker” reveals the secrets of the super-rich

Fights for inheritance, extramarital affairs, and Ponzi schemes. All of this is part of the daily life of the “money butler” in the show.
With his triple-breasted suit, combed-back graying hair, and a black umbrella that doubles as a cane, Koichi Ano makes a striking impression. The 58-year-old man gazes intently through the black frames of his glasses as he advises a desperate client drowning in debt.

“I’m a private banker,” he says, making a dramatic pause. “A freelancer who will dedicate his life to protecting the assets of my clients. I am, so to speak, a guardian of wealth. I am the butler of money.”
Ano is not an ordinary financier. He is the fictional protagonist of Private Banker – a primetime TV drama on Japan’s major network TV Asahi, which began airing last month and is available for streaming on Netflix.

This is a world of billionaires, complex Ponzi schemes, inheritance battles, and extramarital affairs. Ano – played by Toshiyaki Karasawa – is at the center of the plot as the indispensable intermediary.

The show reflects the growing interest in wealth management in Japan, as the economy emerges from decades of periodic deflation and the trauma of the stock market crash of the early 90s. It also captures the changing attitudes toward money in a country that has traditionally valued frugality and avoided ostentation.

While American dramas have long focused on the lifestyles of the ultra-wealthy – from the oil saga Dallas of the 80s to the struggles of a powerful media dynasty in Succession – Japan has largely avoided such storylines.

“For a long time, it was considered morally wrong for people to show off their wealth,” says Mirai Matsuki, a private banker in Tokyo and fan of the series. However, this is gradually changing, he notes, as people begin to receive admiration when talking about their wealth on social media.

Wealth is clearly demonstrated early on in Private Banker, where e-commerce billionaire Yusaku Maezawa makes a cameo appearance on board his private jet, valued in the show at 10 billion yen ($64 million).

Producer Takato Akiyama shares that he first encountered private banking about ten years ago while researching another project and was captivated by the scale of the profession. “I’m always looking for new and interesting characters when working on a dramatic series,” he says. “I chose private bankers because I think it would be useful for us living in this era to gain insights into money from such a character.”

The TV drama comes at the perfect moment. Japan is in the midst of a retail investment boom, supported by government tax incentives and the return of inflation. Individual investors poured a total of 12.8 trillion yen into stocks through the 10 largest brokerage firms last year via tax-exempt investment accounts – more than three times as much as in 2023, according to the Japan Securities Dealers Association.

But as people shift from hoarding cash to investing, criminals are quickly exploiting their relative inexperience, and investment fraud is rising across the country.

“I hope people who are interested in money but haven’t had the chance to study it will be excited to discover that such a world exists,” says Akiyama, who met with bankers, accountants, tax officials, and wealthy individuals to research the series.

Wealth is clearly displayed in early scenes of the show.

Private wealth management is a growing business in Japan. In 2023, the country had 2.8 million millionaires, measured in U.S. dollars, compared to just under 22 million in the U.S. and approximately the same number as France and Germany, according to UBS Group AG. This number is expected to grow to 3.6 million by 2028, according to UBS. In response, banks and brokerage firms in Japan are expanding their wealth management operations to serve the increasing number of wealthy clients.

While Private Banker is not meant to provide investment advice, producer Takato Akiyama says that some of Ano’s knowledge might be transferred to viewers. The private banker often takes the time to explain financial concepts to the characters, even using a whiteboard at one point.

Ano primarily works for the 79-year-old Takehiro Tengudji, the fictional president of Japan’s largest food company, whose wealth is estimated at around 700 billion yen ($4.5 billion). In the first episode, Tengudji asks Ano to help save his favorite dumpling shop, whose owner is in debt after investing in a Ponzi scheme.

The plot is complex – the owner is deceived by his half-brother and a ruthless commercial banker.
“You allowed yourself to become their victim because you know little about finances,” says Ano to the shop owner. In the end, he unravels the web of scams and saves the situation. “Knowledge and the ability to act are key,” he emphasizes.

The drama intensifies in the second episode when Ano helps investigate an assault on Tengudji’s eldest son, Tsutomu, who was pushed down the stairs. It turns out he has six lovers whose lavish spending is practically laundered through the company’s accounting books.

Akiko Okada, an associate professor at Tokai University in the Department of Cultural and Social Studies, notes that Japanese dramas rarely focus on “individual investors or ultra-wealthy personalities,” likely due to the long-held illusion of equality in Japan, where everyone is considered middle class.

Ano is not “completely on the side of the wealthy who hold real power,” she notes, and “he imparts wisdom to the weaker ones.” According to her, the success of the series will depend on how these plotlines evolve.

Private wealth management is a growing business in Japan.

The real private banker, Mirai Matsuki, who is currently building a wealth management team at the Tokyo brokerage company J Trust Global Securities Co., is quick to point out that reality is rarely as dramatic as the series plots. “We rarely resolve family disputes and wouldn’t help uncover a perpetrator,” he jokes, referring to the attacker of Tsutomu. Nonetheless, he adds, “it’s a pleasure for me that our profession is becoming more well-known.”

Inheritance battles, extramarital affairs, and Ponzi schemes. These are part of the daily life of the “money steward” in the show.

With his triple-breasted suit, neatly combed gray hair, and a black umbrella that also serves as a cane, Koichi Ano makes a striking impression. The 58-year-old man looks intently through the black frames of his glasses as he advises a desperate client mired in debt.

“I am a private banker,” he says, pausing dramatically. “A freelancer who will dedicate his life to protecting his clients’ assets. I am, so to speak, the guardian of wealth. I am the steward of money.”

Ano is no ordinary financier. He is the fictional protagonist of Private Banker — a primetime TV drama on the major Japanese network TV Asahi, which began airing in the country last month and is available for streaming on Netflix.

This is a world of billionaires, complicated Ponzi schemes, inheritance battles, and extramarital affairs. Ano, played by Toshiyaki Karasawa, is at the center of the plot as the indispensable middleman.

The show reflects the growing interest in wealth management in Japan as the economy emerges from decades of periodic deflation and the trauma of the stock market crash in the early ’90s. It also captures changing attitudes toward money in a country that has traditionally valued frugality and avoided ostentation.

While American dramas have long focused on the lifestyles of the ultra-wealthy — from the oil saga Dallas in the ’80s to the struggles of a powerful media dynasty in Succession — Japan has largely avoided such storylines.

“It used to be considered morally wrong for people to flaunt their wealth,” says Mirai Matsuki, a private banker in Tokyo and fan of the series. However, he notes, this is gradually changing as people begin to gain admiration when they talk about their wealth on social media.

Wealth is clearly demonstrated in the opening scenes of Private Banker, where e-commerce billionaire Yusaku Maezawa makes a cameo appearance aboard his private jet, valued in the show at 10 billion yen ($64 million).

Producer Takato Akiyama shares that he first encountered private banking about a decade ago while researching another production and was fascinated by the scale of the profession. “I’m always looking for new and interesting characters when I work on a dramatic series,” he says. “I chose private bankers because I think it would be helpful for us living in this era to learn about money from such a character.”

The television drama comes at just the right moment. Japan is in the midst of a retail investment boom, supported by government tax incentives and the return of inflation. Individual investors poured a total of 12.8 trillion yen into stocks through the top 10 brokerage firms last year through tax-advantaged investment accounts — more than three times the amount from 2023, according to the Japan Securities Dealers Association.

But as people shift from hoarding cash to investing, criminals are quickly taking advantage of their relative inexperience, and investment fraud is rising across the country.

“I hope people who are interested in money but haven’t had the opportunity to study it will be inspired to discover that such a world exists,” says Akiyama, who has met with bankers, accountants, tax officials, and wealthy individuals to research the theme of the series.

Private wealth management is a growing business in Japan. In 2023, the country had 2.8 million millionaires, measured in U.S. dollars, compared to just under 22 million in the U.S. and about the same number as France and Germany, according to UBS Group AG. This number is expected to rise to 3.6 million by 2028, according to UBS forecasts. In response, banks and brokerage firms in Japan are expanding their wealth management operations to serve the growing number of affluent clients.

While Private Banker is not intended to offer investment advice, producer Takato Akiyama says that some of Ano’s knowledge could transfer to viewers. The private banker often takes time to explain financial concepts to the characters, even using a whiteboard at one point.

Ano works primarily for 79-year-old Takehiro Tengudji, the fictional president of Japan’s largest food company, whose wealth is estimated at about 700 billion yen ($4.5 billion). In the first episode, Tengudji asks Ano to help save his favorite dumpling shop, whose owner has fallen into debt after investing in a Ponzi scheme.

The plot is complicated — the owner is scammed by his half-brother and a ruthless commercial banker. “You’ve allowed yourself to become their victim because you know little about finance,” Ano tells the shop owner. Ultimately, he unravels the web of fraud and saves the situation. “Knowledge and the ability to act are key,” he emphasizes.

The drama intensifies in the second episode, when Ano helps investigate an assault on Tengudji’s eldest son, Tsutomu, who is pushed down the stairs. It turns out he has six mistresses, whose extravagant spending is practically laundered through the company’s books.

Akiko Okada, an associate professor at Tokai University in the Department of Cultural and Social Studies, notes that Japanese dramas rarely focus on “individual investors or ultra-wealthy individuals,” likely due to the long-held illusion of equality, where everyone in the country is considered middle class.

Ano is not “entirely on the side of the rich, who hold the real power,” she notes, but “conveys wisdom to the weaker ones.” According to her, the success of the series will depend on how these storylines develop.

Real-life private banker Mirai Matsuki, who is currently building a team of wealth managers at Tokyo’s J Trust Global Securities Co., is quick to point out that reality is rarely as dramatic as the plots of the series.

“We rarely resolve family disputes and would not help uncover a perpetrator,” he jokes, referring to Tsutomu’s attacker. Still, he adds, “I’m happy that our profession is becoming more well-known.”