Japan FinTech Observer | Tontines | ex-Goldman & Barclays Tech MD
private equity
The Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) and ORIX Corporation have entered into an agreement to launch a commitment-based private equity fund. The total fund size will be the yen equivalent of USD 2.5 billion. The fund will invest in Japanese companies, primarily targeting business succession, privatization of listed companies,
blockchain
Startale Group has announced the Startale App, an all-in-one gateway to the Startale and Soneium ecosystem, designed to make the open digital economy simple, secure, and connected. Built as part of a continued partnership with Sony Block Solutions Labs, the app marks the beginning of a new chapter
stablecoin
HashPort has signed a capital and business alliance agreement with KDDI. Under this alliance, HashPort conducted a third-party allotment capital increase to KDDI. As a result, KDDI acquired more than 20% of HashPort's issued shares, making HashPort an equity-method affiliate of KDDI. Going forward, both companies
Weekly
Welcome to the one hundred thirty-seventh edition of the Japan FinTech Observer. The convergence is happening. The Financial System Council Working Group on Crypto-Assets has come to the conclusion that forcing crypto investments into the Payment Services Act, and is working on an approach to migrate the relevant
crypto
The Financial Services Agency (FSA) hosted the 5th Meeting of the Financial System Council Working Group on Crypto-Assets on November 7, 2025. The meeting focused on consolidating previous discussions and presenting specific proposals for regulatory reforms concerning crypto assets in Japan, particularly addressing the shift of crypto assets towards
sustainability
The 11th Annual Conference of the Principles, co-hosted by the International Capital Market Association (ICMA) and the Japan Securities Dealers Association (JSDA) in Tokyo, brought together key stakeholders to discuss the future of sustainable finance, with a strong focus on transition and nature-related financing. Here are our key
payments
Infcurion's next-generation card issuance platform "Xard" has been adopted by Money Forward for the handling of ETC cards in "Money Forward Business Card." Money Forward, with its mission "Move Money Forward. Move Life More Forward," has been deploying "Money Forward
payments
Stripe and NEC have begun exploring integration of the Stripe Reader S700 payment terminal, compatible with the unified commerce solution Stripe Terminal, with NEC's face recognition payment service. By combining Stripe's payment terminals, payment services, and functions with NEC's face recognition technology, which boasts
Economics
The Itochu Research Institute's Associate Senior Research Fellow Sota Takano put out a new research note last week, analyzing the most recent monthly labor survey. Nominal Wage Growth Accelerates, but Real Wages Remain Negative In September, the growth rate of total cash earnings was +1.9% year-on-
stock exchange
Hiromi Yamaji, Group Chief Executive Officer of the Japan Exchange Group (JPX), spoke at the Foreign Correspondents' Club of Japan on November 5, 2025, focusing on Japan's ongoing corporate governance reforms, the resultant market momentum, and JPX’s strategic initiatives for future growth. Key Takeaways 1. Sustainable
banking
Tokyo Star Bank and Global Trust Networks, which specializes in foreign residents and comprehensively provides services supporting life in Japan including housing, employment, telecommunications, and finance, have signed a basic agreement and commenced collaboration to realize financial services for foreign residents in Japan. The number of foreign residents in Japan
banking
SBI Holdings reported financial results for the first half of Fiscal Year 2025 (April 1, 2025 – September 30, 2025) at the end of October. Given the usual comprehensive reporting (150+ pages), the following article aims to extract the key updates. I. Consolidated Performance Overview SBI Holdings reported record-breaking performance