venture capital
Pacific Meta is a Tokyo-based company that provides end-to-end support as a “Web3 Accelerator” for Web3 projects both domestically and internationally. Pacific Meta supports companies and projects challenging the Web3 space by leveraging their specialized expertise in Web3 to offer assistance in fundraising, consulting, business development, and marketing. Additionally, they
artificial intelligence
Vivident, a startup developing AI-powered character IP technology, has secured $1.5 million in seed funding from global investors across South Korea, Japan, the United States, and Hong Kong. The round included participation from leading venture firms including Hashed, Mashup Ventures, TheVentures, Modhaus (Korea), Sfermion (US), as well as Japan&
payments
The Financial System Council's Working Group on Payment Services has published its key findings and recommendations today. The report addresses emerging issues in the Japanese FinTech landscape, focusing on payment and settlement services, crypto-assets, stablecoins, and other related topics. It proposes several regulatory adjustments to balance innovation with
NFT
NTT Digital has launched the “Hapiwell Ouendan (Happy & Wellness Cheering Team)” campaign in collaboration with 22 partner companies. Themed “Happy & Wellness,” this campaign is led by Sanrio’s popular unit “HAPIDANBUI” as the cheer captain, with participating companies joining as cheering team members to make the campaign more
blockchain
Kaia has integrated Fireblocks, an enterprise platform to manage digital asset operations and build innovative businesses on blockchain. The collaboration enables institutions to securely manage and transfer assets on the Kaia blockchain network, offering enhanced capabilities in tokenization, DeFi, and blockchain-based financial products. Fireblocks brings improved operational efficiency, reduced asset
ESG
Global carbon ratings agency BeZero Carbon has completed a USD 32 million Series C investment round to enable carbon markets through ratings. The round is led by Temasek-founded GenZero, a decarbonisation-focused global investment firm headquartered in Singapore, with additional investment from Japan Airlines and the Translink Innovation Fund. Existing investors
banking
freee has completed its registration as a Financial Services Intermediary, allowing it to begin offering "freee Branch" accounts for corporate customers by leveraging the Banking as a Service (BaaS) platform of GMO Aozora Net Bank. Under its mission to "Make small businesses the protagonists of the world,
weekly
Welcome to the ninety-fifth edition of the Japan FinTech Observer. Thank you for all the well wishes. We are back, and so is Ueda-san, who is going to raise the policy rate to 0.5% this week. It simply has to happen, notwithstanding any nonsense coming out of Washington prior
NFT
The Iwami Ginzan Future Consortium, Japan Post Holdings, Japan Post, and Ota City will conduct a demonstration experiment in the Iwami Ginzan area to enhance tourism experiences, attract visitors, and establish mechanisms for continued regional engagement using NFTs. As part of the "Local Co-creation Initiative," where Japan Post
capital markets
Leveraging the new standardized framework for regulatory reporting based upon ISDA’s globally promoted "Digital Regulatory Reporting (DRR)" solution and the FINOS open source managed "Common Domain Model (CDM)", the Japan Securities Clearing Corporation (JSCC) plans to begin production-parallel operations of its regulatory reporting to the
cashless
In December 2024, Payments Japan published its "Cashless Roadmap 2024", focusing on Japan's cashless payment trends, the activities of the Cashless Promotion Council, international comparisons, and progress toward the goals outlined in previous roadmaps. The report highlighted the growing adoption of cashless payments in Japan, while
banking
During the past week, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation has signed MOUs with the National Infrastructure Fund of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, as well as with the Saudi Investment Promotion Authority. Signing of a Memorandum of Understanding with the National Infrastructure Fund of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Sumitomo Mitsui