What’s New on the FSA Website

Week of October 22 - October 26, 2018

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

Press Conferences

October 23, 2018	Press Conference by the Minister for Financial Services (October 5, 2018) Japanese version
October 23, 2018	Press Conference by the Minister for Financial Services (October 2, 2018) Japanese version
October 23, 2018	Press Conference by the Minister for Financial Services (September 21, 2018) Japanese version

Public CommentsPress Releases

(The following press release is available in English)

International 

October 23, 2018	Basel Committee on Banking Supervision issued the final version of its Stress testing principles

(The following press releases are available in Japanese)

Councils

October 25, 2018	Publication of the agenda and handouts of the second meeting (in the program year 2018) of the “Study Group on the Financial System” under the Financial System Council  < Summary> The FSA published the agenda and handouts of the second meeting (in the program year 2018) of the “Study Group on the Financial System” under the Financial System Council, which was held on October 25, 2018.
October 22, 2018	Publication of the agenda and handouts of the 15th meeting of the “Working Group on Financial Markets” of the Financial System Council  < Summary> The FSA published the agenda and handouts of the 15th meeting of the “Working Group on Financial Markets” of the Financial System Council, which was held on October 22, 2018.

Banks

October 26, 2018

Publication of a joint announcement by the FSA, the CAA (Consumer Affairs Agency), and  MLIT (Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism) to alert real estate owners/lessors who intend to enter into sublease contracts with property management companies (sub-lessors) to the necessity of conducting thorough checks of contract contents before signing < Summary> The FSA, the CAA (Consumer Affairs Agency), and MLIT (Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism) published a joint announcement to alert real estate owners/lessors who intend to enter into sublease contracts with property management companies (sub-lessors) to the necessity of conducting thorough checks of contract contents before signing.

Others

October 26, 2018	Publication of the agenda and reference materials of the first meeting of the “Advisory Council on Enhancement of Auditing Information Provision”  < Summary> The FSA published the agenda and reference materials of the first meeting of the “Advisory Council on Enhancement of Auditing Information Provision” which will be held on November 2, 2018.
October 24, 2018	Publication of the PoC test results of the second project for “FinTech PoC (Proof-of-Concept) Hub”  < Summary> From the perspective of further acceleration of challenges toward financial innovation utilizing FinTech, on September 21, 2017, the FSA has launched “FinTech PoC (Proof-of-Concept) Hub” to eliminate the hesitation and concern that FinTech firms and financial institutions are inclined to have in conducting unprecedented tests. Since its launch, the Hub has selected four PoC projects so far, in which the Hub has offered support by forming special working teams for the respective projects in cooperation with other relevant authorities as necessary. In the meantime, the second project (selected on March 16, 2018) has finalized its PoC test and the FSA has accordingly published its PoC test results. The second project is related to the “Act on Prevention of Transfer of Criminal Proceeds.”
October 24, 2018	Authorization of Japan Virtual Currency Exchange Association as a certified association for payment service provider  < Summary> The FSA authorized Japan Virtual Currency Exchange Association as a certified association for payment service provider pursuant to the “Payment Services Act.”
October 24, 2018	Publication of supplementary guidance documents for the registration screening of virtual currency (crypto-asset) exchange service providers < Summary> Based on the importance of the further clarification and transparency of the registration screening process for virtual currency (crypto-asset) exchange service providers, the FSA published supplementary guidance documents for the registration screening of virtual currency (crypto-asset) exchange service providers, namely, an “Outline of Registration Screening Process for Virtual Currency (Crypto-Asset) Exchange Service Providers,” a “Format of Questionnaire on Registration Screening for Virtual Currency (Crypto-Asset) Exchange Service Providers,” and “Key Points of Registration Screening of Virtual Currency (Crypto-Asset) Exchange Service Providers” (all three document titles are provisional English titles). These supplementary guidance documents are expected to be useful for the applicants to further understand the FSA’s supervisory focal points set out in the “Guidelines for Administrative Processes” and to have foreknowledge of the key points of registration screening, in conjunction with the use of the interim results of on-site and off-site inspections/monitoring for virtual currency (crypto-asset) exchange service providers.
October 22, 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 from December 25, 2018 onwards  < Summary> A new electronic data interchange system infrastructure is scheduled to be adopted from December 25, 2018 onwards 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.
October 19, 2018	Publication of the updated “Policy Approaches to Strengthen Cyber Security in the Financial Sector”  < Summary> The FSA published the updated “Policy Approaches to Strengthen Cyber Security in the Financial Sector” (first publication in July 2015) to clarify its response policy toward the emerging issues pertaining to the accelerating digitalization and progress of international discussions, as well as the “Games of the XXXII Olympiad and Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games.”
October 19, 2018	Third sector-wide cyber security exercise (“Delta Wall III”)  < Summary> The ensuring of cyber security across the financial sector has become a crucial issue for the stability of the overall financial system while cyber-attacks in the financial sector are increasingly becoming sophisticated and complicated. In this context, for upgrading the capabilities to respond to cyber-attacks, especially across small and medium-sized financial institutions, the FSA conducted the third sector-wide cyber security exercise (“Delta Wall* III”) over the period from October 22 to 26, 2018. * Delta Wall means a key element in cyber security: the triad (Delta) of “self-help,” “mutual assistance,” and “public assistance.”