One of myriad brochures offering trips to Zurich, Geneva and Luxembourg aimed at Japan's well-to-do offers the provocative call "Now is the time to evacuate your assets!"
During a nine-day tour that ranges from 698,000 yen to 1,080,000 yen per person, participants knock on the door of a private bank along Lake Geneva and another in the city of Luxembourg to learn how the institutions can provide them with tailored services to manage their wealth in various currencies. In their free time, the travelers golf or go on excursions to the Swiss Alps.
"The number of telephone calls about our services has jumped since around late last year," said Masayasu Akiya, president of Japan Private Banking Consultants. The Tokyo-based consultancy, whose service includes mediating between Japanese customers and private Swiss banks, organizes a tour every year.