FSA Weekly Review No.630 April 3, 2025

FSA Weekly Review No.630: April 3, 2025

What’s New on the FSA Website

Week of March 21, 2025 - March 27, 2025

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

Press Conferences

March 24, 2025	Press Conference by the Minister of State for Financial Services (March 11, 2025)
March 24, 2025	Press Conference by the Minister of State for Financial Services (March 7, 2025)

Public Comments

March 27, 2025	Publication of the draft amendments to the "Comprehensive Guidelines for Supervision of Major Banks, etc." and the "Comprehensive Guidelines for Supervision of Small- and Medium-Sized and Regional Financial Institutions" for public consultation <Summary> The FSA proposed the draft amendments to the "Comprehensive Guidelines for Supervision of Major Banks, etc." and the "Comprehensive Guidelines for Supervision of Small- and Medium-Sized and Regional Financial Institutions" (hereinafter collectively referred to as the "proposal") for public consultation. The proposal is mainly intended to ensure the appropriateness and soundness of safe deposit box services provided by financial institutions, from the perspective of enhancing management systems at financial institutions to prevent fraudulent incidents, such as theft, and of ensuring the effectiveness to prevent money laundering. Public comments will be accepted until 5:00 p.m. (JST), April 27, 2025 The original press release is available in Japanese.
March 26, 2025	Publication of the finalized "Cabinet Order to Amend the Cabinet Order on Travel Expenses and Allowances Payable to Witnesses and Expert Witnesses in Trial Procedures, etc. under the Financial Instruments and Exchange Act" alongside the finalized "Cabinet Order to Amend the Cabinet Order on Travel Expenses and Allowances Payable to Witnesses and Expert Witnesses in Trial Procedures of the Certified Public Accountants Act" after public consultation <Summary> The FSA published the finalized "Cabinet Order to Amend the Cabinet Order on Travel Expenses and Allowances Payable to Witnesses and Expert Witnesses in Trial Procedures, etc. under the Financial Instruments and Exchange Act" alongside the finalized "Cabinet Order to Amend the Cabinet Order on Travel Expenses and Allowances Payable to Witnesses and Expert Witnesses in Trial Procedures of the Certified Public Accountants Act" after public consultation. In response to the amendments to the "Act on Travel Expenses for National Public Officers" pertaining to the travel expenses and allowances* for witnesses and expert witnesses in trial procedures, etc. under the "Financial Instruments and Exchange Act" and the "Certified Public Accountants Act," the finalized Cabinet Orders develop necessary provisions for the arrangement of travel expense categories/items and provide amendments to the relevant and applicable Cabinet Orders to increase the maximum daily allowance* for witnesses and expert witnesses in light of recent changes in economic conditions, thereby establishing new relevant and applicable Cabinet Office Orders to set forth matters required in terms of technicalities. The finalized Cabinet Orders were enforced on April 1, 2025. (The provisions for travel expense and allowances will be enforced on July 1, 2025). * The finalized Cabinet Orders increase the maximum daily allowance to be paid to a witness in a trial procedure pertaining to an administrative monetary penalty payment order from the current 8,200 yen to 8,450 yen and to an expert witness from the current 7,800 yen to 8,050 yen. The original press release is available in Japanese.
March 24, 2025	Publication of the finalized "Cabinet Office Order to Amend the Regulation on Terminology, Forms and Preparation Methods of Consolidated Financial Statements," etc. after public consultation <Summary> The FSA published the finalized "Cabinet Office Order to Amend the Regulation on Terminology, Forms and Preparation Methods of Consolidated Financial Statements," etc. after public consultation. The finalized Cabinet Office Order mainly provides necessary/consequential amendments to the matters to be considered in handling the Regulation on Financial Statements, Guidelines for the "Regulation on Terminology, Forms and Preparation Methods of Financial Statements" and other guidelines for other relevant and applicable regulations, in response to ASBJ (Accounting Standards Board of Japan) Statement No. 34, Accounting Standard for Leases (available only in Japanese) and other relevant ASBJ's statements. The finalized Cabinet Office Order was enforced on March 24, 2025. The original press release is available in Japanese.
March 21, 2025	Publication of the finalized amendments to the "Comprehensive Guidelines for Supervision of Money Lenders" and others after public consultation <Summary> The FSA finalized the amendments to the "Comprehensive Guidelines for Supervision of Money Lenders" and others after public consultation. The finalized amendments mainly clarify responses to be taken by the competent authorities for entities who are operating money lending business without proper registration, and to provide necessary amendments to the said Guidelines. The finalized amendments took effect on April 1, 2025. The original press release is available in Japanese.
March 21, 2025	Draft revisions to the “Principles for Responsible Institutional Investors” «Japan’s Stewardship Code» - To promote sustainable growth of companies through investment and dialogue - for public consultation

Press Releases

Banks

March 26, 2025	Publication of the updated "Business Support Methods for Respective Industries" (provisional English title) <Summary> The FSA has been implementing a project to enhance and instill in the financial sector the use of key takeaways of business support methods for respective industries, aimed at encouraging on-site personnel of regional financial institutions to enhance their ability to provide efficient financing and consulting services for corporate clients (corporate borrowers) by business sector type. In this regard, the FSA published the updated "Business Support Methods for Respective Industries" as of March 2025, with the addition of two new industries: nursing care, and lodging. This update is subsequent to the update in March 2024, where three industries (manufacturing, services, and medical/healthcare) were added. The Business Support Methods were originally published in March 2023. The original press release is available in Japanese.
March 21, 2025	Administrative action against Ugo Shinkin Bank <Summary> The Tohoku Local Finance Bureau took administrative action against Ugo Shinkin Bank (hereinafter referred to as the "Shinkin Bank"), ordering the improvement of its business operations, pursuant to the provision of Article 26, paragraph (1) of the "Banking Act" (Act No.59 of 1981) as applied mutatis mutandis pursuant to Article 89, paragraph (1) of the "Shinkin Bank Act" (Act No. 238 of 1951). The administrative action was mainly based on an onsite inspection conducted by the said Bureau as well as the statutory report filed by the Shinkin Bank in response to an order by the Bureau, where the Shinkin Bank was ascertained to have failed to complete the development of a risk management system based on the "Guidelines for Anti-Money Laundering and Combating the Financing of Terrorism," mainly attributed to managerial issues, including the lack of a human resource development and deployment due to the lack of the management's awareness of the importance of AML/CFT risks, and the failure to establish a cross-organizational response system. Details are available only in Japanese on the webpage of the said Bureau. The original press release is available in Japanese.

March 26, 2025

Publication of the updated "Business Support Methods for Respective Industries" (provisional English title)
<Summary>
The FSA has been implementing a project to enhance and instill in the financial sector the use of key takeaways of business support methods for respective industries, aimed at encouraging on-site personnel of regional financial institutions to enhance their ability to provide efficient financing and consulting services for corporate clients (corporate borrowers) by business sector type.
In this regard, the FSA published the updated "Business Support Methods for Respective Industries" as of March 2025, with the addition of two new industries: nursing care, and lodging.
This update is subsequent to the update in March 2024, where three industries (manufacturing, services, and medical/healthcare) were added. The Business Support Methods were originally published in March 2023.

The original press release is available in Japanese. open new window

March 21, 2025

Administrative action against Ugo Shinkin Bank
<Summary>
The Tohoku Local Finance Bureau took administrative action against Ugo Shinkin Bank (hereinafter referred to as the "Shinkin Bank"), ordering the improvement of its business operations, pursuant to the provision of Article 26, paragraph (1) of the "Banking Act" (Act No.59 of 1981) as applied mutatis mutandis pursuant to Article 89, paragraph (1) of the "Shinkin Bank Act" (Act No. 238 of 1951).
The administrative action was mainly based on an onsite inspection conducted by the said Bureau as well as the statutory report filed by the Shinkin Bank in response to an order by the Bureau, where the Shinkin Bank was ascertained to have failed to complete the development of a risk management system based on the "Guidelines for Anti-Money Laundering and Combating the Financing of Terrorism," mainly attributed to managerial issues, including the lack of a human resource development and deployment due to the lack of the management's awareness of the importance of AML/CFT risks, and the failure to establish a cross-organizational response system.
Details are available only in Japanese on the webpage of the said Bureau open new window

.

The original press release is available in Japanese. open new window

Securities

March 25, 2025	Publication of a summary of results of the first fund monitoring survey, which is based on the status of investment funds as of December 31, 2023 <Summary> The FSA published a summary of results of the first fund monitoring survey, which is based on the status of investment funds as of December 31, 2023. The FSA annually conducts survey on investment funds (i.e. investment trusts, investment corporations, and collective investment schemes), in light of the fact that IOSCO (International Organization of Securities Commissions) and other relevant organizations request financial regulators in each country to collect data on investment funds that are above a certain size from a financial stability perspective, as well as from the FSA's own monitoring perspective. The first survey summary is available only in Japanese here. The original press release is available in Japanese.

March 25, 2025

Publication of a summary of results of the first fund monitoring survey, which is based on the status of investment funds as of December 31, 2023
<Summary>
The FSA published a summary of results of the first fund monitoring survey, which is based on the status of investment funds as of December 31, 2023. The FSA annually conducts survey on investment funds (i.e. investment trusts, investment corporations, and collective investment schemes), in light of the fact that IOSCO (International Organization of Securities Commissions) and other relevant organizations request financial regulators in each country to collect data on investment funds that are above a certain size from a financial stability perspective, as well as from the FSA's own monitoring perspective.
The first survey summary is available only in Japanese PDF

here

.

The original press release is available in Japanese. open new window

Insurance

March 25, 2024	New web portal for information on initiatives taken in the insurance business sector in response to the enactment of the "Genome Medicine Promotion Act" for the promotion of genomic medicine in an appropriate, fair, and equitable manner <Summary> The FSA newly launched a web portal for information on relevant initiatives taken in the insurance business sector in response to the inclusion of provisions on ensuring appropriate responses to unfair discrimination based on genomic information, etc. under the "Genome Medicine Promotion Act" for the promotion of genomic medicine in an appropriate, fair, and equitable manner. Note: General inquiries, consultations, and opinions in regard to financial services including unfair discrimination against services users based on genomic information are accepted at the FSA's Counseling Office for Financial Services Users. The original press release is available in Japanese.
March 24, 2024	Administrative action against four insurance companies <Summary> The FSA took administrative actions against the following four insurance companies (hereinafter referred to as "the entities"), in regard to information leakage incidents incurred by their insurance agencies, ordering the improvement of the entities' respective business operations pursuant to the "Insurance Business Act": (1) Tokio Marine & Nichido Fire Insurance Co., Ltd. (2) Aioi Nissay Dowa Insurance Co., Ltd. (3) Sompo Japan Insurance Inc., and (4) Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Company, Limited. The administrative actions were based on the statutory reports filed by the respective entities in response to the orders issued by the FSA, where the entities were found to have been problematic mainly in terms of their governance and regulatory compliance systems. Details of the administrative actions for the entities (1), (2), (3), and (4) are available only in Japanese. The original press release is available in Japanese.

March 25, 2024

New web portal for information on initiatives taken in the insurance business sector in response to the enactment of the "Genome Medicine Promotion Act" for the promotion of genomic medicine in an appropriate, fair, and equitable manner
<Summary>
The FSA newly launched a web portal for information on relevant initiatives taken in the insurance business sector in response to the inclusion of provisions on ensuring appropriate responses to unfair discrimination based on genomic information, etc. under the "Genome Medicine Promotion Act" for the promotion of genomic medicine in an appropriate, fair, and equitable manner.

Note: General inquiries, consultations, and opinions in regard to financial services including unfair discrimination against services users based on genomic information are accepted at the FSA's Counseling Office for Financial Services Users.

The original press release is available in Japanese. open new window

March 24, 2024

Administrative action against four insurance companies
<Summary>
The FSA took administrative actions against the following four insurance companies (hereinafter referred to as "the entities"), in regard to information leakage incidents incurred by their insurance agencies, ordering the improvement of the entities' respective business operations pursuant to the "Insurance Business Act":
(1) Tokio Marine & Nichido Fire Insurance Co., Ltd.
(2) Aioi Nissay Dowa Insurance Co., Ltd.
(3) Sompo Japan Insurance Inc., and
(4) Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Company, Limited.

The administrative actions were based on the statutory reports filed by the respective entities in response to the orders issued by the FSA, where the entities were found to have been problematic mainly in terms of their governance and regulatory compliance systems. Details of the administrative actions for the entities ( PDF

), (

), (

), and (

) are available only in Japanese.

The original press release is available in Japanese. open new window

Others

March 27, 2025	Request for financial measures to deal with disasters caused by wildfires that broke out on March 23, 2025 (the Shikoku Local Finance Bureau) <Summary> The Shikoku Local Finance Bureau and the Matsuyama Branch of the Bank of Japan issued a statement (available only in Japanese) titled "Financial Measures to Deal with Disasters Caused by Wildfires that Broke Out on March 23, 2025" to the relevant financial institutions. The statement requests financial institutions in Ehime Prefecture to appropriately deal with victims of the disaster considering their circumstances, such as by making the repayment of deposits flexible. * Matters related to financial measures in Ehime prefecture fall within the purview of the Shikoku Local Finance Bureau. Disaster-affected areas in the said prefecture are currently subject to the "Disaster Relief Act." If more areas in the prefecture become subject to the said Act, financial institutions in the prefecture will be requested to take measures in the same manner as above accordingly. The original press release is available in Japanese.
March 26, 2025	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 the updated lists of Japan-based entities and foreign-based entities). These lists also include the warned non-registered entities with untraceable/unidentified addresses. (Postal and/or web addresses on the list of the warned non-registered foreign-based entities reflect those shown on their respective webpages, not necessarily the addresses that could be traced and identified). The original press release is available in Japanese.
March 26, 2025	Updated list of issuers of gift certificates in repayment procedures based on the ’Payment Services Act’（March 18）
March 24, 2025	Publication of the finalized version of the FY 2024 reference casebook of good practices on the disclosure of narrative information, mainly in regard to perspectives and initiatives for corporate sustainability <Summary> The FSA has been publishing a series of reference casebooks of good practices on the disclosure of narrative information to encourage corporate initiatives to accumulate and instill good practices toward the enhancement of disclosure of narrative information. The FSA has newly published the finalized version of the FY 2024 reference casebook of good practices on the disclosure of narrative information, a compilation of good practices in the disclosure of corporate sustainability-related concepts and initiatives disclosed in annual reports, including the following section items: - Key Contracts critical to business management. etc., - (Corporate) management's policy, business environment, and issues to be addressed - (Corporate) management's discussion and analysis (MD&A) of its financial position, operating results, and cash flow situation, and - Disclosure practices by small- and mid-sized listed companies related to respective topics covered in the reference casebook. The finalized version of the FY 2024 reference casebook has been compiled by the "Study Group for Collecting Good Practices on Corporate Disclosure of Narrative Information Based on the Principles Regarding the Disclosure of Narrative Information,"* and it shares the latest collection of favorable practices on the disclosure of narrative information mainly in terms of corporate sustainability. (Updates to the casebook are made as deemed necessary). * Corporate disclosure of sustainability information is a key corporate disclosure element that has been gaining focus and interest in society lately. Relevant initiatives to enhance corporate disclosure of sustainability information are encouraged through amendments to the Corporate Governance Code and other measures. ** The Study Group is to bring investors, analysts, experts, and representatives from listed companies together to update the reference casebook. The original press release is available in Japanese.

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