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. Basic Idea
Based on Article 3 of the Law on
Foreign Securities Firms, unless a foreign broker-dealer registers the
main branch in Japan with JFSA, a foreign broker-dealer is not allowed to
engage in securities transactions with residents in Japan.
On the other hand, based on Article 2
Paragraph 2 of the Cabinet Order for the Enforcement of the Law on Foreign
Securities Firms, even non-registered foreign broker-dealers are allowed
to engage in securities transaction if they receive orders from investors
in Japan without the direct "solicitation" to them. The issue,
therefore, is whether JFSA would consider a broker-dealer's Web site to be
the "solicitation", the attempt to induce securities
transactions with Japanese investors.
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. Cross-Border Securities Transaction via
Internet by Foreign Securities Firms
As a rule, a broker-dealer's advertisement on
Internet Web sites such as the offer of market information, real-time or
delayed quote information, or instructions on how to order, falls under
the "solicitation", that is, an advertisement about securities
transaction in newspaper, magazine, television, radio or other related
media based on Article 7 Item 1 of the Ordinance of the Prime Minister's
Office on Foreign Securities Firms.
In spite of the above, the JFSA will not consider
foreign broker-dealer's advertisement on an Internet Web site to
constitute a "solicitation", that is an attempt to induce
securities transactions with residents in Japan, only if the foreign
broker-dealer takes the following appropriate and rational measures
designed to exclude the possibility of securities transactions with
residents in Japan:
(1) |
Disclaimer
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The Web site must have a prominent disclaimer which
makes it clear that the offer is not aimed at residents in
Japan.
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The JFSA will take into account the following
factors in order to determine whether the disclaimer is
adequate or not.
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The disclaimer should be seen without any
special operation other than viewing the Web site. |
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The disclaimer should be described in the
same language as the rest of the Web site. |
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(2) |
Measures designed to avoid securities transaction with
residents in Japan
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The measures must be designed to avoid dealing with
persons in Japan.
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The JFSA will take into account the following
factors in order to determine whether the measures are
adequate or not.
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The broker-dealer should implement
appropriate procedures to determine a potential
customer's residence, by requiring them to provide
their mailing address, e-mail address, payment or
other information. |
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The broker-dealer should prepare the
appropriate procedures for rejecting an order
reasonably recognized as being sent from Japan. |
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The broker-dealer should not implement such
measures as establishing a call-center in Japan or
hypertext linked to the portal sites targeting to
Japanese residents. |
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The above procedures are not definitive. The JFSA, therefore,
will accept equivalent or more effective measures than those stated above.
The JFSA will consider a Web site to be a solicitation if the
broker-dealer should fails to implement the appropriate measures mentioned
above. In this case, the broker-dealer is required to prove that any
transactions with residents of Japan took place without solicitation.
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