What’s New on the FSA Website

Week of February 13 - February 16, 2018

This page contains the latest in events, developments, and updates to the FSA website.

Press Conferences

February 15, 2018	Press Conference by the Minister for Financial Services (February 6, 2018) (Japanese version)

Press Releases

(The following press releases are available in English)

International 

February 14, 2018	Tenth Issue of the GLOPAC Newsletter
February 13, 2018	International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) issued recommendations and good practices to improve liquidity risk management forinvestment funds

Others

February 16, 2018	Updated list of issuers of gift certificates in repayment procedures based on the “Payment Services Act”

(The following press releases are available in Japanese)

Banks

February 13, 2018

Increasing convenience for bank transfer processes through the adoption of a new electronic data interchange system infrastructure with the launch of the “ZEDI (Zengin Electronic Data Interchange) system” for all Japanese banks scheduled in December 2018 < Summary> A new electronic data interchange system infrastructure is scheduled to be adopted in December 2018 with the launch of the “ZEDI (Zengin Electronic Data Interchange) system” for all Japanese banks. The adoption of the new system increases convenience for financial transfer processes, particularly in terms of bulk bank transfers, enabling companies to transmit various commercial distribution information (inclusive of respective number IDs of payment notices and invoices) to accounts of recipient companies for reference. The upgraded function of the system is expected to improve the efficiency in payment-clearing (reconciliation of accounts receivables) and to reduce the burden of accounting office work spent on referencing.

Securities

February 13, 2018	Updated lists of entities that are operating financial instruments businesses without proper registration (The Kanto Local Finance Bureau) < Summary> The FSA and the Kanto Local Finance Bureau issued warnings to entities that are operating financial instruments businesses without proper registration. (See updated lists of Japan-based entities and foreign-based entities).

Others

February 16, 2018	The meeting of the eighth “Council for Cooperation on Financial Stability” < Summary> The FSA and the BOJ (Bank of Japan) held the eighth meeting of the “Council for Cooperation on Financial Stability” to exchange views on the current situation of the financial system and the market among the senior officials including the Commissioner of the FSA and the Deputy Governor of the BOJ.
February 16, 2018	Activities of the FSA’s Counseling Office for Financial Services Users between October 1 and December 31, 2017 < Summary> The FSA’s Counseling Office for Financial Services Users offers a counseling service to respond to inquiries and comments from financial services users. Between October 1 and December 31, 2017, the counseling office received 9,055 inquiries and comments, an increase from 8,173 cases in the previous quarter (between July 1 and September 30, 2017).
February 15, 2018	Publication of the agenda and handouts of the 14th meeting of the “Council of Experts Concerning the Follow-up of Japan’s Stewardship Code and Japan’s Corporate Governance Code” < Summary> The FSA published the agenda and handouts of the 14th meeting of the “Council of Experts Concerning the Follow-up of Japan’s Stewardship Code and Japan’s Corporate Governance Code,” which was held on February 15, 2018.
February 15, 2018	Request for financial measures to deal with disasters caused by the very heavy snow in 2017 (The Niigata Local Finance Office of the Kanto Local Finance Bureau) < Summary> On February 14, 2018, the Niigata Local Finance Office of the Kanto Local Finance Bureau and the Bank of Japan’s Niigata Branch issued a joint statement titled “financial measures to deal with disasters caused by the very heavy snow in 2017” to the relevant financial institutions. The statement requests financial institutions in Niigata Prefecture to appropriately deal with victims of the disaster considering their circumstances, such as by making the repayment of deposits flexible.
February 13, 2018	Publication of the agenda and handouts of the first meeting of the “Council of Experts on Managing Settlement Risks of Foreign Exchange (FX) Transactions for Over-the-Counter (OTC) FX Brokers” < Summary> The FSA published the agenda and handouts of the first meeting of the “Council of Experts on Managing Settlement Risks of Foreign Exchange (FX) Transactions for Over-the-Counter (OTC) FX Brokers,” which was held on February 13, 2018.
February 13, 2018	Warning issued to Blockchain Laboratory Limited that is operating the virtual currency exchange business without proper registration < Summary> The FSA issued a warning to Blockchain Laboratory Limited that is operating the virtual currency exchange business without proper registration in violation of the “Payment Services Act.”
February 9, 2018	The first director-general level triparty liaison meeting among the National Police Agency, the FSA, and the Consumer Affairs Agency pertaining to Coincheck,inc.’s cyber incident < Summary> The National Police Agency, the FSA, and the Consumer Affairs Agency jointly held the first director-general level triparty liaison meeting to further enhance collaboration pertaining to the cyber incident in which Coincheck,inc. suffered a loss of virtual currencies under its management involving an unauthorized access from an external party. Specifically, the meeting members exchanged information and views on the corresponding actions to the said incident the three agencies have taken so far in terms of service user protection, including directions/initiatives towards the other respective virtual currency broker dealers, deemed-virtual currency broker dealers, and unregistered virtual currency broker dealers.