Establishing an exchange-traded fund (ETF) in Japan has traditionally been quite difficult. It involves the formation of a local company, hiring staff, licensing and building up back- and middle-office operations.

“That's a huge burden,” said Keiichi Ohara, founder and chief executive officer of Japan Asset Management Platform (JAMP), which is working to fast-track and simplify the rigmarole so that more funds can be created and brought to market faster.

It provides a "white-label ETF" service, in which many of the formalities and much of the necessary operations are handled for a fund manager.