TOKYO, Aug 7 Reuters A day after the Tokyo stock market had its biggest fall since 1987, Yuri Sekiya decided it was time to heed Prime Minister Fumio Kishida39;s longstanding call for Japanese citizens to invest more of their 15 trillion in household assets.

The recent market volatility has emerged as a test case for Kishida39;s drive to transform Japan from a nation of savers to one of investors, a shift crucial for the world39;s fourthlargest economy as it confronts a rapidly ageing population.

Sekiya, 49, spent Tuesday morning, as stocks were rebounding, at a brokerage seminar learning about NISA accounts  the government39;s taxfree programme designed to channel dormant cash into shares and mutual funds in Tokyo39;s Shinjuku district.

Maybe now is a good time to start a NISA, because I think the market will go up more stably after the plunge, said Sekiya, who works parttime in education. She opened her NISA account earlier this year but had held off investing due to caution.

Japan is becoming a society where we can39;t just rely on our pension, she said, underlining growing awareness among many Japanese that cash is no longer enough to ride out retirement.

Everywhere, Japan is showing quiet signs of change after decades spent battling deflation and stopstart growth prices and wages are going up and the central bank is lifting interest rates for the first time in years.

Kishida has made the NISA, which was first launched in 2014, a pillar of his new capitalism…