payments
The landscape of business-to-business (B2B) transactions in Japan is undergoing a significant transformation, driven by the rapid growth of Business Invoice Payment Services (BIPS). These services provide a vital bridge between traditional invoicing and modern cashless payments, enhancing operational flexibility for Japanese enterprises. This rapid adoption has outpaced direct legislative
regional revitalization
Released on December 18, 2025, the final report of the Financial Services Agency’s "Working Group on Strengthening Regional Financial Capabilities" outlines a comprehensive strategy to fortify Japan's regional banking sector against the headwinds of severe demographic decline and economic contraction. The document argues that for
insider trading
Japan’s Financial Services Agency took a decisive step toward tightening the reins on capital market misconduct today as the Financial System Council’s Market System Working Group convened to finalize its draft report. In a session characterized by broad consensus among legal experts, academics, and industry representatives, the council
regulation
In a decisive move to modernize Japan’s financial infrastructure while fortifying consumer protections in the digital asset space, the Financial Services Agency (FSA) has released a comprehensive suite of draft Cabinet Orders and Ordinances related to the impending amendment of the Payment Services Act. Released on December 16, 2025,
regulation
This article synthesizes the key discussion points, directives, and strategic priorities communicated by Japan's Financial Services Agency (FSA) during its October 2025 meetings with various financial industry associations. The purpose of this briefing is to provide a high-level strategic analysis of the FSA's primary focus areas,
regional banks
Regional Financial Institutions (RFIs) are the cornerstone of Japan's local economies. As outlined in the "Working Group on Strengthening Regional Financial Capabilities" draft report, their role extends beyond simple financing to become a driving force for regional economic vitality. However, their capacity to fulfill this critical
supervision
The Financial Services Agency (FSA) has published its annual report for the administrative year from July 1, 2024, to June 30, 2025, providing a comprehensive (400+ pages) and transparent overview of its activities. It is intended to inform its stakeholders—including financial institutions, market participants, and the public—about the
payments
The Financial Services Agency established the "FinTech Proof-of-Concept Hub" in September 2017 to help resolve hesitations and concerns that FinTech companies and financial institutions tend to have when attempting unprecedented proof-of-concept experiments, by supporting their experiments through the clarification of related laws and regulations interpretations and compliance/supervisory
crypto
The Financial Services Agency (FSA) hosted the 4th Meeting of the Financial System Council Working Group on Crypto-Assets on October 22, 2025. The discussion focused heavily on cybersecurity, the strengthening of the self-regulatory organization (SRO) Japan Virtual and Crypto Assets Exchange Association (JVCEA), and the future regulatory framework for crypto
crypto
The Financial Stability Board (FSB) has published its 100+ page "Thematic Review on FSB Global Regulatory Framework for Crypto-asset Activities," from which we have extracted all information related to the regulatory environment in Japan for Crypto-Asset Activities (CA) and Global Stablecoin Arrangements (GSC). Regulatory Framework Summary (Overall Status)
tokenization
The Digital Asset Co-Creation Consortium (DCC) has unveiled a detailed blueprint for launching a fully on-chain settled, tokenized Money Market Fund (MMF), aiming to bridge Japan's established financial markets with the rapidly expanding global digital asset ecosystem. The report, authored by the DCC's "On-Chain Settled
compliance
TOPPAN Edge, a TOPPAN Group company and wholly owned subsidiary of TOPPAN Holdings, was certified by the Global Legal Entity Identifier Foundation (GLEIF) as the first Japanese Qualified vLEI Issuer (QVI) in the verifiable Legal Entity Identifier (vLEI) ecosystem. In November this year, TOPPAN Edge will launch vLEI-Gateway™, a vLEI