weekly
Welcome to the one hundred fifteenth edition of the Japan FinTech Observer. Greetings from Lake Biwa! Our annual sake brewery tour & domestic holiday has us hovering around Japan's biggest lake, with our path leading us across Gifu, Shiga, Fukui, and Kyoto prefectures so far. We got to
weekly
Welcome to the one hundred fourteenth edition of the Japan FinTech Observer. Never a dull moment in banking! Deal-making galore, and finally the cash on those balance sheets is put to productive use (rather than stock buy backs and increased dividends, i.e. financial engineering), with the aim of developing
blockchain
R3, which is represented in Japan through a joint venture with SBI Group, has entered into a strategic partnership with the Solana Foundation to create next-generation internet capital markets that fuse public and private blockchains. Read also: Progmat, in collaboration with NTT DATA and SBI R3 Japan, has launched both
weekly
Welcome to the one hundred thirteenth edition of the Japan FinTech Observer. When I joined an investment bank in 2000, we had afternoon fruit baskets. These disappeared after the internet bubble burst, and even before 9/11 happened. A few years later, fruit baskets made a comeback, only to be
weekly
Welcome to the one hundred eleventh edition of the Japan FinTech Observer. For many, this was a three-day working week. For some, it was a four-day working weekend. Reading the announcements of Sony Bank's migration to a new core banking system reminded us of our own time in
weekly
Welcome to the one hundred tenth edition of the Japan FinTech Observer. The decades-long (if not forever) pricing system for Japanese sake has been broken. It has not happened overnight, rather it has been a slow, post-pandemic process as far as I could tell, but by now most of the
disclosures
The Organization of Global Financial City Tokyo (FinCity.Tokyo) aims to enhance the appeal of the Tokyo financial market as a top international financial center by supporting listed companies (especially those listed on Growth and Standard markets) in improving their English information disclosure and IR activities, thereby attracting overseas investment
weekly
Welcome to the one hundred ninth edition of the Japan FinTech Observer. We are entering our own Japanese-style "triple witching" week. First, Golden Week has started, typically a good time to stay pat in Tokyo when everyone is traveling. However, travel has become expensive for Japanese residents, and
capital markets
The pursuit of a vibrant and inclusive Japanese equity market necessitates constant adaptation and innovation. Recognizing the need to broaden investor participation and revitalize market dynamics, the Tokyo Stock Exchange (TSE) convened a study group dedicated to exploring the reduction of investment units. The study group released its comprehensive report
carbon credit
Carbon EX has supported the registration of Japan's first "J-Credit Project utilizing joint delivery" by Logisteed. This project is a groundbreaking initiative that leads to decarbonization in the logistics industry and the construction of a sustainable supply chain. Carbon EX is a joint venture between ASUENE
security token
BOOSTRY has begun offering "E-Prime for IR", a service that enables issuers who raise funds using security tokens to proactively refer to and use investor information and other information necessary for marketing. The domestic public offering of Security Tokens (ST) has reached a cumulative issuance amount of 168.
weekly
Welcome to the one hundred eighth edition of the Japan FinTech Observer. The digital banking landscape has become a little clearer. This week, Money Forward and MUFG ended their factoring joint venture, Biz Forward, with Money Forward making it a wholly owned subsidiary. A few days later, SMBC and Money