What’s New on the FSA Website

Week of April 2, 2021 - April 8, 2021

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

Public Comments

(The following public comment is available in English)

April 7, 2021	Call for Public Comments on the ”Guidelines for Investor and Company Engagement” (Revision Draft)

 

Press Releases

(The following press releases are available in English)
Publication

April 7, 2021	FSA publishes English translation of monthly magazine, Access FSA No.211

Others

April 8, 2021	Fourteenth Meeting of the ”Council for Cooperation on Financial Stability”
April 7, 2021	Revision of the Corporate Governance Code
April 7, 2021	Stewardship Code : 299 institutional investors have signed up to the Principles for Responsible Institutional Investors as of February 28, 2021
April 6, 2021	Revisions of Japan‘s Corporate Governance Code and Guidelines for Investor and Company Engagement
April 6, 2021	Updated list of issuers of gift certificates in repayment procedures based on the ’Payment Services Act’
April 2, 2021	Preparation for permanent cessation of LIBOR

(The following press releases are available in Japanese)

Councils

April 7, 2021

Publication of the agenda and handouts of the third meeting of the "Task Force to Discuss Optimal Ways to Ensure Best Execution" of the Financial System Council <Summary> The FSA published the agenda and handouts of the third meeting of the "Task Force to Discuss Optimal Ways to Ensure Best Execution" of the Financial System Council which was held on April 7, 2021.

April 5, 2021

Publication of the draft "Basic Guidelines for Climate Transition Finance" <Summary> The FSA proposed the draft "Basic Guidelines for Climate Transition Finance." The draft Basic Guidelines were formulated by the "Study Group on Environmental Improvement for Effective Transition-Finance" (provisional English title),* a tri-party collaborative study group comprised of representatives from the FSA, the METI (Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry), and the MoE (Ministry of the Environment) to formulate basic principles for transition-finance in Japan, particularly in terms of raising funds through transition bonds, loans, etc. The proposal intends to expressly set forth in the said Guidelines the significance of promoting transition-finance initiatives in tandem with the initiatives to realize a decarbonized society based on the global objective of "carbon neutrality 2050."

 

Banks

April 2, 2021

Request for financial measures to deal with disasters caused by a large-scale fire outbreak in Matsue City, Shimane Prefecture (Chugoku Local Finance Bureau) <Summary> The Chugoku Local Finance Bureau and the Bank of Japan's Matsue Branch issued a joint statement titled "Financial Measures to Deal with Disasters Caused by a Large-Scale Fire Outbreak in Matsue City, Shimane Prefecture" to the relevant financial institutions. The statement requests financial institutions in Shimane Prefecture to appropriately deal with victims of the disaster considering their circumstances, such as by making the repayment of deposits flexible.

 

Securities

April 2, 2021

Administrative action against i Global Asset Management Co., Ltd. <Summary> The FSA took an administrative action* against i Global Asset Management Co., Ltd. a business operator that engages in investment management business, Type II financial instruments business, and investment advisory and agency business, ordering a partial suspension of the entity's business operations from April 2 to July 1, 2021, and thereby ordering the improvement of its business operations pursuant to the "Financial Instruments and Exchange Act." * This administrative action is based on findings from the entity's statutory report which was submitted to the FSA after the entity was ordered to improve its business operations as of February 3, 2021.

Others

April 8, 2021	Points that need to be addressed in a securities report (FY 2021 and thereafter) and securities report review from FY 2021 onwards <Summary> The FSA published points that need to be addressed in a securities report from FY 2021 onwards as follows: 1)  Points related to the newly applied disclosure regulations 2)  Points related to the results of the securities report review of the prior year Also, the FSA is to conduct securities report review for the reports submitted in FY 2021 and thereafter. The main three pillars of the review are: ・   the review on the application of the newly applied regulations; ・   the review on the implementation of key priority themes; and ・   the review by utilizing information from disclosure, media, and retail investors.
April 8, 2021	Warnings about entities that are operating money lending businesses without proper registration <Summary> The FSA (Local Finance Bureaus) updated warnings about entities that are operating money lending businesses without proper registration. The warnings include the updated list of entities that misrepresent their registration using fictitious or stolen registration numbers.
April 7, 2021	Warning against troubles related to crypto-asset (virtual currency) trading with fraudulent and unregistered crypto-asset exchange service providers <Summary> The FSA, the Consumer Affairs Agency, and the National Police Agency, jointly renewed a warning* against troubles related to crypto-asset (virtual currency) trading with fraudulent and unregistered crypto-asset exchange service providers in response to increasing reports of trouble from financial services users. * Alerts have been issued as necessary based on reports from financial services users since the first joint warning as of September 29, 2017.