Japan FinTech Observer | Tontines | ex-Goldman & Barclays Tech MD
venture capital
Headline Asia has closed its fifth and largest fund to date, Headline Asia Fund V, at USD 145 million. The fund will support a new generation of founders building in high-growth sectors including e-commerce, logistics, FinTech, IP and artificial intelligence—domains where Asia is setting new global standards. Headline Asia
banking
Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (MUFG) and its consolidated subsidiary, MUFG Bank, have entered into a partnership agreement with Sakana AI, an AI R&D company, and have retained Ren Ito, COO of Sakana AI, as AI Advisor. Under the partnership agreement, MUFG Bank and Sakana AI will establish a
weekly
Welcome to the one hundred twelfth edition of the Japan FinTech Observer. We are almost through earnings season, with mainly the three mega insurers scheduled for this week. So you will find quite a few highlights of financial results in this edition, and we are hosting a webinar on Tuesday,
banking
Mizuho Financial Group has released its financial results for FY24 (ending in March 2025), showcasing a year of significant progress and notable achievements. The organization has demonstrated a solid increase overall, primarily driven by larger non-interest income and a positive impact from the Bank of Japan's rate hikes.
banking
MUFG concluded the fiscal year ended March 31, 2025, showcasing a complex picture of both challenges and notable successes. While Net Operating Profits experienced a decrease, the institution witnessed a remarkable surge in customer segments, demonstrating the effectiveness of its customer-centric strategies. This year marked a pivotal point in MUFG&
banking
SMBC Group reported on its financial performance for the fiscal year ending March 2025 (FY3/2025). The organization highlighted record achievements, primarily fueled by the robust performance of its core domestic market business. These gains were strategically leveraged to fortify future initiatives and address potential vulnerabilities arising from evolving trade
carbon
Sustainable Lab, which provides the platform "TERRAST for Enterprise" to support corporate ESG information disclosure and financial/non-financial data analysis support, has signed an agreement with Tottori Bank to cooperate in helping regional companies achieve ESG and sustainability management. Background of Collaboration Regional companies face unique challenges in
leasing
Hitachi ZeroCarbon and MUFG have joined forces to supercharge the global transition to electric vehicles by removing the technical and capital constraints to decarbonisation. In combining Hitachi’s technology and operational expertise with MUFG’s financial strength, fleets benefit from strategic EV guidance and support, and reliable access to low-cost
venture capital
MPower announced the launch of MPower Partners Fund II, a global venture capital fund that backs growth state startups in Japan and overseas. In addition to existing Limited Partners, the Japan Investment Corporation (JIC) has joined as a new investor in Fund II. 1. Investment in Growth-Stage Startups As with
green finance
ASUENE has acquired 100% of the shares of NZero, a US-based climate tech company providing real-time GHG emissions visualization and AI energy management cloud services. In the United States, which is experiencing a policy transition period, the collaboration between NZero, working on balancing energy costs and emissions, and ASUENE will
security token
Starts Group, Mizuho Securities, and Securitize Japan have announced their collaboration on the public offering and issuance of security tokens (STs) backed by real estate assets utilizing the "Securitize Platform", a computer system using distributed ledger technology developed by Securitize. This ST is a real estate security token
life insurance
Dai-ichi Life Holdings has decided to make an additional investment of approximately 10.3% in Capula, a leading UK-based alternative management firm with world-class expertise in fixed-income arbitrage, crisis alpha and global macro strategies, while agreeing to transfer all shares held by Dai-ichi Life International in Ocean Life Insurance, a