What’s New on the FSA Website

Week of September 2, 2019 - September 6, 2019

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

Public Comments

(The following public comments are available in Japanese)

September 6, 2019	Publication of the finalized amendments to the "Comprehensive Guidelines for Supervision of Insurance Companies" <Summary> The FSA finalized the amendments to the "Comprehensive Guidelines for Supervision of Insurance Companies." The amendments clarify that registered insurance solicitors (agents) may use their birth names or original family names (as opposed to using their married names), when introducing themselves to customers, whenever the solicitors (agents) engage in insurance solicitation. The amended Guidelines were enforced on September 6, 2019.
September 6, 2019	Publication of the draft "Cabinet Office Order on Arrangement of the FSA-related Cabinet Office Orders in Accordance with the Enforcement of Act on Arrangement of Relevant Acts to Ensure the Propriety of Measures for Limitations on Rights of Adult Wards, etc." <Summary> The FSA published the draft "Cabinet Office Order on Arrangement of the FSA-related Cabinet Office Orders in Accordance with the Enforcement of Act on Arrangement of Relevant Acts to Ensure the Propriety of Measures for Limitations on Rights of Adult Wards, etc." (provisional English law title). The proposal aims to reflect the updates of the "Act on Arrangement of Relevant Acts to Ensure the Propriety of Measures for Limitations on Rights of Adult Wards, etc."
September 6, 2019	Publication of the finalized revisions of the respective Exposure Drafts of the Audit Standards, the Interim (Semi-annual) Audit Standards, and the Quarterly Review Standards <Summary> The Plenary Meeting of the Business Accounting Council which was held on September 3, 2019 (which is comprised of external experts and stakeholders, wherein the FSA serves as the secretariat) has compiled and published the finalized revisions of the respective Exposure Drafts of the Audit Standards (which mainly mandate an auditor to state the basis of audit opinions in the auditor’s report, and update the auditor’s duty of confidentiality); the Interim (Semi-annual) Audit Standards; and the Quarterly Review Standards (which mainly update the specifics of matter-paragraphs in the auditor’s report based on the revision of the Audit Standards). (The respective Exposure Drafts were subject to public consultation from May 31, through July 1, 2019). The revisions have come into effect on September 6, 2019.
September 6, 2019	Public consultation on the revisions of the "Standards and Practice Standards for Management Assessment and Audit concerning Internal Control over Financial Reporting" (Exposure Draft) The Business Accounting Council (which is comprised of external experts and stakeholders, wherein the FSA serves as the secretariat) has published the revisions of the "Standards and Practice Standards for Management Assessment and Audit concerning Internal Control over Financial Reporting" (Exposure Draft), which mainly update the specifics of matter-paragraphs in the auditor's report based on the revision of the Audit Standards, whereby the Council has invited public comments on the revisions.
September 3, 2019	Publication of the finalized amendments to the "Guidelines for Administrative Processes" regarding virtual currency (crypto-asset) exchange services <Summary> The FSA finalized the amendments to the "Guidelines for Administrative Processes" regarding virtual currency (crypto-asset) exchange services. The FSA has so far shared information on the actual state and issues of virtual currency (crypto-asset) exchange service providers through its publications, including the interim monitoring results of virtual currency (crypto-asset) exchange service providers. This was based on a series of onsite and offsite inspections/monitoring that was carried out in response to cyber incidents pertaining to losses of virtual currencies (crypto-assets) under service providers’ management due to fraudulent leakage involving unauthorized access by external parties. In this respect, the amendments clarify and reflect the contents of the said FSA publications in supervisory focal points in the Guidelines so that service providers can ensure appropriate business management structures and take appropriate responses in the event of fraudulent leakage of assets, etc. It also adds new supervisory focal points pertaining to ICO (Initial Coin Offering) subject to virtual currency (crypto-asset) exchange services. The amended Guidelines were enforced on September 3, 2019.
September 2, 2019	Publication of the finalized "Cabinet Office Order to Amend the Ordinance for Enforcement of the Insurance Business Act" <Summary> The FSA finalized the "Cabinet Office Order to Amend the Ordinance for Enforcement of the Insurance Business Act." The amendments pertain to an overall reassessment of the types of reports and documents to be filed by insurance companies upon a request for reporting from the authorities. The amended Cabinet Office Order was enforced on September 2, 2019.

 

Press Releases

(The following press releases are available in Japanese)

Councils

September ２, 2019	Publication of the agenda and handouts of the plenary meeting of the Business Accounting Council and the sixth meeting of the Accounting Committee of the said Council <Summary> The FSA published the agenda and handouts of the plenary meeting of the Business Accounting Council and the sixth meeting of the Accounting Committee of the said Council which were both held on September 3, 2019.

Securities

September 6, 2019

Administrative penalty charge against an individual for recommending the purchase of stocks of RUDEN HOLDINGS Co.,Ltd. based on insider information obtained as an officer of the entity <Summary> On September 5, 2019, the FSA issued an order to impose an administrative penalty charge against an individual for recommending the purchase of stocks of RUDEN HOLDINGS Co.,Ltd. based on insider information obtained as an officer of the entity to a non-insider who purchased the stocks based on the officer's recommendation.

September 6, 2019

Administrative action against Mr. Kazunori Murayama, a notifier of specially permitted business for qualified institutional investors (SPBQII) (The Kanto Local Finance Bureau) <Summary> The Kanto Local Finance Bureau took an administrative action against Mr. Kazunori Murayama, a notifier of specially permitted business for qualified institutional investors (SPBQII), ordering the abolition of the notifier's entire SPBQII and the improvement of his business operations pursuant to the "Financial Instruments and Exchange Act." This administrative action is based on a recommendation from the Securities and Exchange Surveillance Commission (SESC) as a result of its on-site inspection.

Others

September 5, 2019	Publication of an activity report from "FinTech Innovation Hub," titled "10 Key Findings from Dialogues with Diverse FinTech Stakeholders" (provisional English title) <Summary> In July 2018, the FSA established "FinTech Innovation Hub" to grasp the cutting-edge trends and the current state of FinTech business, thereby leveraging information and best practices grasped therein for a further development in the FSA's financial administration. Since then until the end of June 2019, the FSA has carried out various activities, such as holding dialogue sessions with over 100 companies respectively inclusive of FinTech companies/innovators, financial institutions, and IT vendors; organizing "FIN/SUM (FinTech Summit)" and "Meetup with the FSA"; and leading the international studies on Blockchain-related issues under the project of "Multilateral Joint Research" on Blockchain. In this regard, the FSA published an activity report which summarizes activities "FinTech Innovation Hub" so far engaged in, titled "10 Key Findings from Dialogues with Diverse FinTech Stakeholders" (provisional English title).
September 3, 2019	Activities of the FSA's Counseling Office for Financial Services Users between April 1 and June 30, 2019 <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 April 1 and June 30, 2019, the counseling office received 9,549 inquiries and comments, a major increase from 8,633 cases in the previous quarter (between January 1 and March 31, 2019).
September 2, 2019	2019 campaign for multiple-debt problem consultation and the updated one-stop access to the campaign information <Summary> Consultation counters at the respective local governments have furthered development based on the "Program to Remedy the Multiple-Debt Problem" which was decided in April 2007 by the Headquarters for the multiple-debt problems in the Cabinet Office. Meanwhile, the FSA has been cooperating with Local Finance Bureaus, local governments, and related organizations to run an annual campaign for multiple-debt problem consultation based on the said Program. The annual campaign is mainly aimed at enhancing the public awareness of the consultation counters and encouraging potential multiple debtors to seek advice from professionals at the consultation counters. The 2019 annual campaign has been scheduled from September 1 through December 31, 2019, wherein free of charge consultation services are provided nationwide and publicity activities are held to encourage the potential multiple debtors to come to the consultation counters. In this regard, the FSA updated its subpage which provides one-stop access to the information of 2019 annual campaign for multiple-debt problem consultation. Among various approaches and efforts taken by the FSA and relevant parties during the campaign, the subpage particularly highlights the schedule-information on temporary consultation sessions held (and to be held) during the campaign by professionals respectively from bar associations, shiho-shoshi lawyer’s associations, local finance bureaus, and prefectures, as well as information on permanent points of contact for consultations.