What’s New on the FSA Website

Week of April 23 - May 2, 2018

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

Press Conferences

May 1, 2018	Press Conference by the Minister for Financial Services (April 3, 2018) (Available in Japanese)
May 1, 2018	Press Conference by the Minister for Financial Services (March 30, 2018) Japanese version
May 1, 2018	Press Conference by the Minister for Financial Services (March 28, 2018) (Available in Japanese)
May 1, 2018	Press Conference by the Minister for Financial Services (March 27, 2018) (Available in Japanese)
May 1, 2018	Press Conference by the Minister for Financial Services (March 23, 2018) (Available in Japanese)
May 1, 2018	Press Conference by the Minister for Financial Services (March 20, 2018) (Available in Japanese)
May 1, 2018	Press Conference by the Minister for Financial Services (March 16, 2018) (Available in Japanese)

Press Releases

(The following press releases are available in English)

International 

May 2, 2018	The Financial Stability Board (FSB) published a second consultation on the proposed governance arrangements for the unique product identifier (UPI)
April 26, 2018	The Financial Stability Board (FSB) published  “Strengthening Governance Frameworks to Mitigate Misconduct Risk: A Toolkit for Firms and Supervisors”

Publication

April 26, 2018	Publication of the 177th issue of the FSA’s monthly journal, Access FSA

Others

May 2, 2018	Updated list of issuers of gift certificates in repayment procedures based on the “Payment Services Act”
April 26, 2018	Updated statistics of money lending business

(The following press releases are available in Japanese)

Councils

April 24, 2018	Publication of the agenda and handouts of the 42nd meeting of the Audit Committee of the Business Accounting Council  < Summary> The FSA published the agenda and handouts of the 42nd meeting of the Audit Committee of the Business Accounting Council, which was held on April 24, 2018.

Banks

April 27, 2018	The FSA’s new webpage to call for the understanding and cooperation of financial service users with respect to the identification and verification at the time of transaction  < Summary> The FSA newly added a webpage to its website to call for the understanding and cooperation of financial service users with respect to identification and verification at the time of transaction.  The FSA and financial institutions take measures to address the misuse of financial services in terms of money laundering and financing of terrorism, and the webpage is expected to further promote the understanding of financial service users, namely, that in certain cases,  identification and verification at the time of transaction may be required by financial institutions in a stricter manner than ever, in order to prevent criminal organizations and terrorist organizations from obtaining funds.
April 27, 2018	Approval granted to The Yachiyo Bank, Limited for its engagement in trust business  < Summary> The FSA granted approval to The Yachiyo Bank, Limited for its engagement in trust business pursuant to the “Act on Engagement in Trust Business by a Financial Institution.”
April 27, 2018	Authorization of the merger of The Yachiyo Bank, Limited, The Tokyo Tomin Bank, Limited, and ShinGinko Tokyo, Limited  < Summary> The FSA authorized the merger of The Yachiyo Bank, Limited, The Tokyo Tomin Bank, Limited, and ShinGinko Tokyo, Limited pursuant to the “Banking Act.”
April 27, 2018	Information sharing on cases regarding unauthorized use of bank accounts  < Summary> The FSA and local finance bureaus provide information regarding unauthorized use of bank accounts to relevant financial institutions and law enforcement authorities after obtaining consents from informants. The FSA has published statistics that include the number of information sharing on cases regarding unauthorized use of deposit accounts until March 31, 2018 since September 2003, along with the corresponding actions taken by financial institutions.
April 27, 2018	Publication of an outline of the financial institutions’ policies on cooperation and collaboration with electronic settlement agents  < Summary> Financial institutions have prepared and published their respective policies on cooperation and collaboration with electronic settlement agents by March 1, 2018 pursuant to Article 10 (1) of the supplementary provisions of the “Act for Partial Revision of the Banking Act (Act No. 49 of 2017)” which stipulates that financial institutions shall prepare and disclose their basic policies regarding their cooperation and collaboration with electronic settlement agents within nine months from the date of promulgation of the Act (promulgation date: June 2, 2017). In this regard, the FSA published an outline of the financial institutions’ policies on cooperation and collaboration with electronic settlement agents, particularly in terms of the API (Application Programming Interface) development.
April 26, 2018	Updated list of authorized organizations supporting business innovation  < Summary> The FSA authorized and published a list of organizations that support business innovation pursuant to the “Small and Medium-sized Enterprises Business Enhancement Act .etc.”

Securities

April 27, 2018

Publication of “Statistics of NISA and Junior NISA Accounts” (revised figures) as of December 31, 2017  < Summary> The FSA published “Statistics of NISA and Junior NISA Accounts” (revised figures). As of December 31, 2017, there were approximately 11.0 million NISA accounts in total, and approximately 12.5 trillion yen (approximately 114.7 billion USD) was invested through the NISA accounts. In addition, 66.6 billion yen (approximately 609.3 million USD) was invested through 290 thousand Junior NISA accounts.

Others

April 27, 2018	Publication of the agenda and handouts of the second meeting of the “Study Group on the Virtual Currency Exchange Services”  < Summary> The FSA published the agenda and handouts of the second meeting of the “Study Group on the Virtual Currency Exchange Services,” which was held on April 27, 2018.
April 27, 2018	Publication of the minutes and handouts of the 13th meeting of the “Working Group on Improving Banks’ Financial Intermediary Services to the Regional Corporations and Economy”  < Summary> The FSA published the minutes and handouts of the 13th meeting of the “Working Group on Improving Banks’ Financial Intermediary Services to the Regional Corporations and Economy” held on March 30, 2018.
April 27, 2018	Publication of the updated “Expert Column,” a subpage of the “NISA Official Promotion Webpage,” with a new article (vol.18) contributed by an external expert  < Summary> The FSA published the updated “Expert Column,” a subpage of the “NISA Official Promotion Webpage,” with a new article (vol.18) contributed by an external expert.
April 25, 2018	Administrative action against everybody's bitcoin Inc. (The Kanto Local Finance Bureau)  < Summary> The Kanto Local Finance Bureau took an administrative action against everybody's bitcoin Inc., ordering the improvement of its business operations pursuant to the “Payment Services Act.” This administrative action is based on the findings from the FSA’s on-site inspection. The said entity’s business management structure was deemed insufficient in terms of the effectiveness to ensure regulatory compliance and appropriate business operations, in which the entity was found to have failed to assess the results of its internal audits appropriately. The entity was also found to have failed to establish an effective management structure in terms of the prevention of money laundering and terrorism financing, the appropriate information provision to its service users, the preparation and keeping of statutory books and records, the system risk management, and the outsourcing management.
April 24, 2018	Administrative penalty charge against T&C MEDICAL SCIENCE, INC. for soliciting its share option certificates without filing  < Summary> On April 23, 2018, the FSA issued an order to impose an administrative penalty charge against T&C MEDICAL SCIENCE, INC. for soliciting its share option certificates without filing.
April 24, 2018	Administrative penalty charge against an officer of JAPAN THIRD PARTY CO.,LTD. for committing insider trading regarding stocks of the entity  < Summary> On April 23, 2018, the FSA issued an order to impose an administrative penalty charge against an individual for committing insider trading regarding stocks of JAPAN THIRD PARTY CO.,LTD. by using information acquired as an officer of the entity.
April 24, 2018	Administrative penalty charges against two individuals for committing insider trading regarding stocks of MARUMITSU CO., LTD. by using the received insider information (1) (2) < Summary> On April 23, 2018, the FSA issued orders to impose administrative penalty charges against two individuals for committing insider trading of stocks of MARUMITSU CO., LTD. by using information received from a contractor of the entity.
April 24, 2018	Administrative penalty charge against an individual for committing insider trading regarding stocks of Escrow Agent Japan,Inc. by using the received insider information  < Summary> On April 23, 2018, the FSA issued an order to impose an administrative penalty charge against an individual for committing insider trading regarding stocks of Escrow Agent Japan,Inc. by using information received from an officer of the entity.
April 24, 2018	Administrative penalty charge against an officer of Escrow Agent Japan,Inc. for communicating insider information regarding stocks of the entity  < Summary> On April 23, 2018, the FSA issued an order to impose an administrative penalty charge against an officer of Escrow Agent Japan,Inc., for communicating insider information to an individual who used the information and committed insider trading.
April 24, 2018	Administrative penalty charge against an individual of a subsidiary of MISAWA HOMES CO., LTD. for committing insider trading regarding stocks of MISAWA HOMES CO., LTD. by using the received insider information  < Summary> On April 23, 2018, the FSA issued an order to impose an administrative penalty charge against an individual of a subsidiary of MISAWA HOMES CO., LTD. for committing insider trading of stocks of MISAWA HOMES CO., LTD. by using information received from an officer of a subsidiary of MISAWA HOMES CO., LTD.
April 24, 2018	Administrative penalty charge against an individual for market manipulation regarding stocks of YURTEC CORPORATION and MAEDA ROAD CONSTRUCTION CO., LTD.   < Summary> On April 23, 2018, the FSA issued an order to impose an administrative penalty charge against an individual for market manipulation regarding stocks of YURTEC CORPORATION and MAEDA ROAD CONSTRUCTION CO., LTD.
April 24, 2018	Administrative penalty charges against the two advisors of Precision System Science Co., Ltd. for committing insider trading regarding stocks of the entity (1) (2) < Summary> On April 23, 2018, the FSA issued orders to impose administrative penalty charges against the two individuals for committing insider trading regarding stocks of Precision System Science Co., Ltd. by using information acquired as advisors of the entity.