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BANKS

David Ha, CEO of Sakana AI, is one of the founders of the startup, which was established in 2023.
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 17, 2025
Sakana AI targets defense and banking markets after big funding round
The startup has achieved a ¥400 billion valuation and notes a “tailwind” from Japan’s new government.
SBI Shinsei Bank plans to raise up to ¥400 billion in its initial public offering, set to be one of Japan's largest listings this year.
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 13, 2025
SBI Shinsei Bank targets ¥400 billion Tokyo IPO for valuation around ¥1 trillion
The lender was taken private in 2023 to repay Shinsei’s government bailout, which parent SBI Holdings completed this year.
Seven Bank is in talks to invest in a FamilyMart-affiliated credit card company, according to the Japanese lender’s president.
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 12, 2025
Japan’s Seven Bank mulls investing in FamilyMart card affiliate
The Tokyo-based bank is looking for areas beyond its main business of operating automated teller machines in convenience stores for its tie-up with FamilyMart.
Nomura Holdings decided to fold its fledgling proprietary trading desk in London into other parts of the markets business, ditching an effort to restart the contentious practice.
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 9, 2025
Nomura abandons effort to restart prop trading desk in London
The short-lived effort shows how Japan’s biggest brokerage continued high-risk bets even as executives say they’ve overhauled to focused on serving customers.
Global firms are racing to carve out space in Japan’s lending market, betting that demand for private credit will surge, albeit slowly.
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 5, 2025
Private credit dealmakers face years of heavy lifting in Japan
Building deal flow will require time — and education — as Japanese borrowers grow familiar with how private debt works and what it can offer.
"She has a good vision,” says Masahiro Kihara, CEO of Mizuho Financial Group, referring to Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's pro-growth policies.
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 4, 2025
Mizuho's CEO says he sees policy tailwinds from Takaichi and BOJ
Masahiro Kihara said Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi had "good vision," referring to her policy initiatives, while the central bank has "room for another hike or two.”
Katsuhiko Ushikubo, chief investment officer of Norinchukin Bank, ahead of an interview at the Bank's headquarters in Tokyo on Monday
BUSINESS / Companies
Oct 28, 2025
Norinchukin still ready to invest in credit despite losses
Chief Investment Officer Katsuhiko Ushikubo is in charge of the bank’s efforts to repair its ¥40.7 trillion portfolio after losses on foreign bonds last fiscal year.
Leaders from EU countries at a European Council meeting in Brussels on Thursday
WORLD
Oct 24, 2025
EU leaders defer decision on Russian assets as Belgium balks
Ukraine’s European allies increasingly see using frozen Russian central bank assets as the only viable way to keep financing Kyiv in its fight against Moscow’s full-scale invasion.
Eric Trump, executive vice president of the Trump Organization, during the Bitcoin Asia conference in Hong Kong, China, in August. Japanese policymakers are taking a more positive view of crypto as U.S. President Donald Trump’s embrace of the assets bolsters the industry.
BUSINESS / Tech
Oct 21, 2025
Japan's FSA may allow banks to invest in crypto assets if risks are managed
The Financial Services Agency is also considering allowing banking groups to apply for licenses to operate cryptoexchanges, according to a source.
MUFG Bank, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking and Mizuho Bank intend to issue stablecoins under a unified standard for use in corporate fund settlements, according to people familiar with the matter.
BUSINESS
Oct 18, 2025
Japan's top three banks to jointly issue stablecoins
MUFG Bank, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking and Mizuho Bank intend to issue the stablecoins under a unified standard for use in corporate fund settlements.
The Slussen transport hub in Stockholm. Nordic and Baltic governments are increasingly concerned about Russian "hybrid war” attacks — low-level but highly disruptive tactics that disrupt infrastructure and services.
BUSINESS / Tech
Oct 17, 2025
Sweden's cashless society could be more vulnerable to hybrid war attacks
With 90% of transactions in the country being done digitally, cyberattacks that couple with psychological operations can spark widespread panic.
The Aichi Prefectural Police headquarters in Nagoya
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Oct 17, 2025
Seven key members of major bank account brokerage ring arrested
The organization is believed to be one of the biggest of its kind in Japan, handling over 1,000 accounts annually for the purpose of money laundering
Japan National Stadium will be called the MUFG Stadium from 2026 to 2030.
MORE SPORTS
Oct 15, 2025
MUFG buys Japan National Stadium naming rights for five years 
The financial services company anticipates opportunities from the investment.
Japan's top financial leaders are working to ease fears that AI will cost jobs, emphasizing its role in boosting efficiency and transforming work.
BUSINESS / Companies
Oct 10, 2025
Japan’s top bank CEOs push for AI, soothing worry over human work
In Japan, where the financial sector employs hundreds of thousands of people, the conversation over AI and its impact on work is picking up pace.
National Stadium in Tokyo
MORE SPORTS
Oct 8, 2025
Mitsubishi UFJ to acquire naming rights for National Stadium
The acquisition is expected to cost around ¥10 billion over five years.
A former MUFG Bank deputy branch manager was sentenced to nine years in prison on Monday for stealing cash and valuables from customers’ safe-deposit boxes.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Oct 6, 2025
Ex-MUFG banker given nine years in prison for safe-deposit box theft
Yukari Yamazaki had been indicted for stealing about ¥390 million worth of property including cash and gold bars.
Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group is strengthening its focus on business catering to the rich, as a bullish Japanese stock market and recovering real estate prices have pushed up the number of such clients in recent years.
BUSINESS / Companies
Oct 3, 2025
MUFG is hiring more bankers in Japan wealth management push
MUFG is targeting clients with at least ¥300 million in total assets. The bank estimates that about 300,000 of its account holders fit that description.
Chiba Bank President Tsutomu Yonemoto (left) and Chiba Kogyo Bank President Hitoshi Umeda shake hands at a news conference on Monday in the city of Chiba.
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 30, 2025
Chiba Bank and Chiba Kogyo Bank to integrate under holding firm
The merger will create Japan's second-largest regional banking group, after Fukuoka Financial Group.
Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group is considering increasing its stake in Jefferies Financial Group as the Japanese lender deepens ties with the U.S. investment bank.
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 19, 2025
Sumitomo Mitsui mulls raising stake in Jefferies to 20%
The two firms are also in discussions to merge parts of their equities businesses in Japan, potentially through the establishment of a joint venture.
Prosecutors have sought a 12-year prison sentence for a former MUFG Bank employee charged with stealing cash and gold from customers' safe deposit boxes.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Sep 19, 2025
Prosecutors seek 12-year sentence for former MUFG bank worker over thefts
Authorities said the defendant caused some ¥1.4 billion in financial damage to 70 customers since 2020.

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An illustration features the Japanese signs for "ganbare" (good luck) and the Deaflympics, which will be held between Nov. 15 and 26.
A century of Deaf sport finds its moment in Tokyo