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August 17, 2025
 

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Taiga Uranaka
Toshinori Yashiki, a senior official at the Financial Services Agency, says the regulator will examine Japanese megabanks’ lending to private equity and other funds in the U.S. for risk management.
BUSINESS / Companies
Oct 15, 2024
Japan regulator to scrutinize megabanks’ lending to U.S. funds
The nation's largest banks are increasing what is known as subscription finance and lending to funds that provide equity or credit to private companies.
To lessen the impact from any shocks, including a U.S. economic slump, Mizuho has been buying Treasurys and other assets that are easier to sell or hedge against price falls.
BUSINESS / Companies
Oct 9, 2024
Mizuho choosing liquid assets, bracing for risk of failed U.S. soft landing
Market participants appear overconfident that U.S. policymakers will be able to tame inflation without causing a recession, the bank's co-head of global markets has said.
Toru Yamasaki, president of San-in Godo Bank, says buying the Japanese government bonds are better for a regional bank like his than foreign debt.
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 24, 2024
Japan bank stung by Fed hikes plots return to government bonds
A bank operating in Japan’s least populated area is doing something that may have global repercussions if its peers do the same.
A stock board at the Tokyo Stock Exchange
BUSINESS / Economy
Sep 3, 2024
Japan FSA to examine bank risks in ‘world with interest rates’
In its annual policy guidance released on Friday, the Financial Services Agency pointed to uncertainty over the global economy and markets.
Fukuoka Financial Group President Hisashi Goto
BUSINESS / Companies
Aug 16, 2024
Regional bank that hired JPMorgan’s Japan strategist seeks more
Fukuoka Financial Group is seeking specialists in alternative investment and equities as it faces pressure to boost returns for shareholders.
Hideki Ito, commissioner of the Financial Services Agency, says Japan needs to be cautious about approving crypto-linked exchange-traded funds.
BUSINESS / Markets
Aug 8, 2024
Japan’s top finance regulator hesitant on crypto ETF approvals
Whether to follow the likes of Hong Kong and the U.S. by approving crypto-linked exchange-traded funds requires "cautious consideration,” he said.
Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group CEO Hironori Kamezawa (center) and other executives bow during a news conference in Tokyo on Friday.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jul 19, 2024
MUFG heads to take pay cut after information firewall breach
21 MUFG officials, including some retired executives, will give up part of their pay after the bank was penalized for the unauthorized sharing of client information.
Brokers such as Nomura are busy handling transactions for the offloading of cross-shareholdings among Japanese companies, which bring in hefty fees.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jul 18, 2024
Block trades herald $5 billion fee windfall for Japan’s brokers
Pressure to improve corporate governance is leading firms to whittle down an estimated ¥50 trillion ($320 billion) they hold in companies with which they do business.
Keisuke Mukunashi, CEO of Yamaguchi Financial Group, says the regional bank is ready to pay compensation comparable to that of Japan’s biggest banks.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jul 14, 2024
Regional Japan lender dangles megabank pay for market hires
Competition among financial institutions to hire bond traders and other specialists is intensifying as the Bank of Japan nudges interest rates higher.
Nintendo is among the big name companies in which Kyoto Financial Group has cross-held shares.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jul 9, 2024
Kyoto bank defies call to unwind holdings after $6-billion gain
Kyoto Financial Group has amassed unrealized profits of more than $6 billion on holdings in other firms.
Traditional boat parties on the Sumida River in Tokyo are popular for informal gatherings among professionals that deal in Japanese government bonds.
BUSINESS / Markets
Jul 9, 2024
Tokyo’s exclusive circle of government bond traders in demand amid policy shift
The world’s top hedge funds are shaking up the closed community that was, for a time, a sleepy backwater of global finance.
Masahiko Kato, president and chief executive officer of Mizuho Bank
BUSINESS / Companies
Jul 3, 2024
Mizuho seeks to back more strategic deals by Japan’s mid-caps
Though companies such as automakers grab the attention of global investors, smaller firms dominate in terms of the number of companies in Japan.
MUFG Bank and two joint ventures in Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group have been penalized for violating client confidentiality rules.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 24, 2024
MUFG penalized by Japan’s financial regulator for client breach
The flagship bank and joint ventures allegedly inappropriately exchanged client information at least 26 times to win business, according to a market watchdog.
Kazuto Oku, CEO of Norinchukin Bank, speaks during a news conference in Tokyo on May 22.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 20, 2024
Norinchukin sounds warning as higher-for-longer rates inflict losses
Signals from central banks that they are in no rush to cut rates have caught out many investors who'd been betting on more aggressive moves.
The Iyogin Holdings headquarters in Matsuyama, Ehime Prefecture
BUSINESS / Companies
May 31, 2024
Bond traders make one-of-a-kind gain at tiny bank in Ehime
Iyogin Holdings, a regional bank based in the prefectural capital of Matsuyama, has delivered record net income for two years in a row.
Kazuto Oku, CEO of Norinchukin Bank, during a news conference in Tokyo on Wednesday
BUSINESS / Companies
May 23, 2024
Failed bond bets at Norinchukin force it to change strategy
Given its ownership structure, there are limits on the bank’s investment options.
Norinchukin Bank is one of Japan’s largest institutional investors with a ¥55.9 trillion ($357 billion) securities portfolio, and bonds make up more than half of its investments.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 21, 2024
Norinchukin weighs $7.7 billion fundraise to cover bond loss
As a result of restructuring its securities portfolio, the Tokyo-based bank may book about ¥500 billion in losses for the current fiscal year, one source said.
Japan's banks are benefiting from the Bank of Japan's policy shift and strong loan demand among their corporate clients.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 15, 2024
Japan’s biggest banks forecast record profits as rates rise
The banks are benefiting from an earnings boost following the Bank of Japan’s policy shift in March.
Tatsufumi Shibata, deputy director-general at the Financial Services Agency, is pushing for greater disclosure by companies of their cross-shareholding practices.
BUSINESS
May 2, 2024
Japan suspects firms are evading disclosure of cross-shareholdings
Some companies are thought to be masking cross-shareholdings as being owned for purely trading purposes.
Dai-ichi Life Holdings has begun to include more alternative investments in its ¥33.9 trillion portfolio, and is also looking at increasing mergers and acquisitions.
BUSINESS
Apr 18, 2024
Shifting market spurs Dai-ichi to adjust ¥33.9 trillion portfolio
The firm is cutting its holdings of domestic equities, which are surging, to avoid too much exposure to the asset class.
Toyoko Kids: The lonely street children of Tokyo
Many young people who feel neglected at home flock to the Toyoko area to find a community where they can fit in.
Japan unveils new overtourism countermeasures
The majority of tourists in Japan tend to stay in Tokyo, Osaka or Kyoto, resulting in overcrowding in popular tourist spots and a strain on transportation systems.
South Korea couple beat same-sex barriers to parenthood
South Korean lesbian couple Kim Kyu-jin (left) and her wife, Kim Sae-yeon, pose with a "pregnant woman" badge during an interview in Seoul last month.
Rising sex tourism exposes loopholes in Japan's anti-prostitution law
While financial misfortunes during the COVID-19 pandemic may have driven some women to work the streets, others simply want more money to spend — or want to pay off their debts — at host clubs.
Opportunities await the bold in the Year of the Wood Dragon
2024 marks the Year of the Dragon in the Chinese zodiac, with the year predicted to be a good time for fresh starts.
Recent deaths of Japanese boxers underline importance of emergency action plans
The Japan Boxing Commission's safety protocols have been thrust into the spotlight following the deaths of Shigetoshi Kotari and Hiromasa Urakawa, who suffered fatal brain injuries while fighting on the same card on Aug. 2.
The indelible memory of being a part of Unit 731
Hideo Shimizu, 95, says he cannot forget seeing the prisoners' bloody wills scribbled on the walls of prison cells at Unit 731 in 1945.
Will Ishiba's critics be able to garner enough support for a leadership race?
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba's political survival likely hinges on whether a leadership race will take place within the Liberal Democratic Party following its decision to have its election committee canvass the opinions of party members and prefectural chapters on the subject.
Hidden rosters and the legacy of Japan’s germ warfare
Katsutoshi Takegami, 77, in his storehouse attic where he discovered his father's Unit 1644 documents
Osaka Expo highlights the challenge of holding events in Japan's scorching summer
People huddle near a large fan blowing icy-cold mist at the Osaka Expo on July 12. Amid Japan's relentless summer heat, organizes have put myriad measures in place in order to keep guests safe.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Longform

Members of the nonprofit group Japan Youth Memorial Association search for the remains of dead soldiers in a cave in Okinawa Prefecture in February.
The long search for Japan’s lost soldiers
By Tomoko Otake

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