Newsletter_FINCITY.TOKYO UPDATE (NOVEMBER 2025)
28 NOVEMBER 2025Newsletters
Updates from Tokyo’s expanding finance and startup ecosystem and the 54 members of FinCity.Tokyo.
Events
FinCity.Tokyo@Singapore Fintech Festival 2025
FinCity.Tokyo had a strong presence at the Singapore Fintech Festival 2025 with a well-attended panel discussion “Unlocking Tokyo: the next wave in Fintech and DeFi” on fintech developments in Japan. Thank you to our panelists Shota Matsuzawa, Co-Founder Decima Fund, Natalie Shiori Fleming, GM Japan, Banking Circle S.A., and Takaya Sugino, Deputy Director of the FSA.
Our Executive Director Tokio Morita was interviewed by The Asian Banker and Asian Banking & Finance about Tokyo’s emergence as a global fintech hub.
Several key fintech and finance publications, including Fintech Times and Finews Asia, also covered our presence at the festival and what Tokyo can offer global fintech innovators.
Japan Session at iConnections Global Alts Asia 2025
On November 11 in Singapore, FinCity.Tokyo hosted the Japan Session at iConnections Global Alts Asia, Asia’s largest alternative investment forum. The panel discussion delved deeply into how the Tokyo Stock Exchange’s corporate governance reforms, activist investing, and the growth of private equity are transforming Japan’s financial landscape. Kaoru Onishi of Nissay Asset Management Corporation commented, “Japanese companies becoming more conscious of capital efficiency (such as ROE) through governance reforms is creating new growth opportunities for investors,” discussing the expansion of Japan’s PE market.
Panelists
Kengo Somei, Tokyo Stock Exchange, Phillip Partnow, Chronus Capital Advisors, and Kaoru Onishi, Nissay Asset Management Corporation.
Moderator
Naomi Takegoshi, Senior Relationship Manager, FinCity.Tokyo
Introducing Our Directors
Interview: Strengthening Japan’s Banking System in the Era of Sustainability
Yoshiaki Ueno, Senior Managing Executive Officer and Director at MUFG Bank Ltd., and Chairman of the Planning Committee of the Japan Bankers Association (JBA), talks about JBA’s role in strengthening Japan’s banking system and promoting sustainable finance.
Interview: Leveraging High-Quality Data to Communicate the Attractiveness of the Japanese Market
Keisuke Komori, Director of Corporate Planning and Group Alliance, Quick Corp., discusses the importance of communicating data-driven insights to overseas investors looking at Japan.
COP30 special feature
As the world faces an urgent need to transition to a net-zero economy, Executive Director Tokio Morita spoke to Responsible Investor about Tokyo’s leading role in shaping and expanding green finance.
KEY STORIES IN JAPANESE MEDIA
- The AI market is likely to overcome the brink of collapse or restructuring, and drive the Nikkei average to 59,000 yen in 2026
Kenichi Hirano, Representative Director of KAsset, sees the continued weak yen driving up the Nikkei’s forecast earnings per share (EPS). From 2024 to 2025, EPS rose about 9.8%. If corporate profits, buoyed by inflation, continue to increase by around 10% in 2026, further growth is possible.
- “Abolish the age restriction on NISA,” Japan as a leading asset management center caucus led by Kishida submits proposal to Prime Minister (11/20, Nikkei)
Prime Minister Takaichi received recommendations from the Parliamentary League for an Asset Management Nation, chaired by former Prime Minister Kishida. The proposal called for abolishing the age restriction on NISA accounts to encourage asset building among a broader range of age groups, as well as reforms to the system to better serve elderly participants.
- Classifying crypto assets as financial products: Tax reductions under consideration for 105 digital currencies including Bitcoin (11/16, Asahi Shimbun)
The Financial Services Agency has decided to apply the Financial Instruments and Exchange Act to crypto assets (virtual currencies), officially classifying them as financial products. Exchange operators dealing with 105 types of tokens will be subject to insider trading regulations and required to disclose information. Similar to stock trading, the agency will also request tax reductions as part of next fiscal year’s tax reform.
KEY STORIES IN INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
- Japan asset managers weigh developing crypto investment products (11/24, Nikkei Asia)
Major asset management players in Japan are planning to develop the country’s first investment trusts incorporating cryptocurrencies as the nation’s top financial regulator weighs allowing such funds. The firms are starting early in anticipation of needing to address multiple practical issues to launch such products.
- Japan Approves $135 Billion Stimulus Shot to Help Households, Economy (11/21, Wall Street Journal)
Japan’s cabinet has approved $135 billion of stimulus to help households cope with rising living costs and boost economic growth, firing off the first fiscal salvo under new Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi. At the heart of the proposal are measures to support households under financial strain, a key issue for Japanese voters.
- Flow of Capital Into Japan Shows Industry Reform Is Working (11/7, Institutional Investor)
Inflows into Japanese stocks and bonds surged this year, showing that government measures to improve the asset management industry are working. PGIM Multi-Asset Solutions, Amova Asset Management and Mitsubishi UFJ Trust and Banking Corporation (MUFG) comment on the positive changes that have come about.
- Japan’s slow digital currency renaissance (10/31, Cryptopolitan)
Japan opened the door to yen-pegged stablecoins this month. Makoto Shibata, head of Finolab, a Tokyo-based fintech innovation hub, and Soichiro Tokuriki, CEO of Next Finance Tech, explain the practical applications on stablecoins in Japan and how they expect the technology to pan out.
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