The Cabinet approved bills Friday aimed at tightening rules against money laundering and terrorist financing to avoid getting on an international watchdog's list of high-risk and uncooperative jurisdictions.
The move came months after the Financial Action Task Force, a global standard setter for fighting money laundering, issued an unprecedented statement that singled out Japan for its failure to fix deficiencies via legislation.
The Paris-based watchdog expressed concerns about Japan's continued failure to remedy the numerous and serious deficiencies identified in its third mutual evaluation report adopted in October 2008.