Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group (SMBC Group) will appoint Ahmed Jamil Mazhari to lead transformation initiatives aimed at accelerating group-wide AI strategy and integration. In partnership with Mazhari, SMFG will also establish a new agentic AI solutions company in Singapore, first serving SMBC Group as “customer zero” before expanding to the broader market.
Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance (MSI), a subsidiary of MS&AD Insurance Group, has decided to acquire shares of Time Machine Underwriters (TMU), a Managing General Agency (MGA) specialized in Representation & Warranty Insurance in Japan. MSI plans to acquire the majority ownership share of TMU on August 1 2025, and
UPSIDER Capital Corporation, a subsidiary of UPSIDER Corporation, has completed the final close of the second fund "UPSIDER BLUE DREAM Growth Fund 2", within the venture debt fund "UPSIDER BLUE DREAM Fund" operated as a joint venture with Mizuho Financial Group. This Fund includes participation from
The Bank of Japan has published the minutes from the 9th meeting of the Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) Liaison Council on June 4, 2025. The meeting covered discussions about: * Progress updates from the Bank of Japan on CBDC pilot experiments and international developments * Key concerns from various financial industry
Welcome to the one hundred nineteenth edition of the Japan FinTech Observer. With the last update on the Shunto wage negotiations behind, and the Upper House elections ahead of us, it is worth taking another look at the situation the average Japanese consumer finds herself in. In September 2022, we