Weekly
Welcome to the one hundred thirty-ninth edition of the Japan FinTech Observer. We are hearing that now is the best time since the pandemic to visit Kyoto. You will still see some late autumn foliage, the Japanese Yen is moving closer to its 160 JPY/USD ceiling (or beyond 180
Weekly
Welcome to the one hundred thirty-eighth edition of the Japan FinTech Observer. We are up to the neck in earnings season, and have included ten quarterly reports in this edition. Among them, Infcurion and Sony Financial (again) present their first results as a public company. We will cover the mega
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 parts to
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 investment
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 for
tokenization
The "Digital Asset Co-creation Consortium" (abbreviated as DCC, with 315 member organizations), hosted by Progmat, will establish the "Tokenization Law & Stock ST Working Group (WG)" and commence a joint study with the purpose to enable the transfer of rights for all securities, including stocks and
Weekly
Welcome to the one hundred thirty-sixth edition of the Japan FinTech Observer. A couple of items from the rumor mill, as they seem to have escaped the inner circle of confidentiality. First, Revolut is working on obtaining a banking license in Japan. Prior to being sanctioned with a business improvement
Weekly
Welcome to the one hundred thirty-fifth edition of the Japan FinTech Observer. There is a fair chance that you have read more than your fair share of characterizations of what Takaichi is and is not, and what her policies will or will not be. As always, we encourage you to
Weekly
Welcome to the one hundred thirty-fourth edition of the Japan FinTech Observer. Another day, another record high for the Nikkei 225 - by the time I hit sent on this weekly report, we might well have crossed the 50,000 index level for the first time. Obviously, one of the
Weekly
Welcome to the one hundred thirty-third edition of the Japan FinTech Observer. What a difference a week makes! For last week's edition, it seemed a foregone conclusion that Takaichi, coming fresh off her victory in the LDP presidential election, would become Japan's first female prime minister.
Weekly
Welcome to the one hundred thirty-second edition of the Japan FinTech Observer. What a difference a year makes! After last year's LDP leadership election, which Ishiba won in a run-off against Takaichi, the TOPIX sold off -3.5% and the Japanese Yen strengthened from ¥146 to below ¥142
crypto
Gumi, a name long synonymous with Japan's vibrant mobile gaming industry, has signaled one of the most decisive strategic shifts in its history. The company last week announced a landmark capital raise of approximately ¥5.7 billion (roughly $38 million USD) through the issuance of stock acquisition rights.