monetary policy
We always like to listen to the Bank of Japan's press conference after the Monetary Policy Meeting, not so much for the prepared statements, which can be read independently, but for the Q&A session. So here is what we have learned. I. Governor's Prepared
stablecoin
IDA Finance Hong Kong (IDA), a leading digital asset company based in Hong Kong, Progmat, a digital assets platform provider backed by Japan's largest banking groups and technology firms, Datachain, a leading blockchain firm in Japan, and TOKI FZCO (TOKI), a cross-chain infrastructure provider, have announced a strategic
venture capital
Funding Societies | Modalku, the largest SME digital finance platform in Southeast Asia, has announced a strategic equity investment from Gobi Partners, an Asia-focused venture capital firm. This investment underscores strong investor confidence in Funding Societies' business model, resilience, and commitment to bridging the region's SME credit gap,
insurtech
Tokio Marine HCC International (TMHCCI), leading the panel, is joined by Markel and Apollo in announcing they are providing insurance capacity for Artio, to power its data-driven early-stage carbon credit delivery insurance product. The new, innovative cover will be available to businesses globally with immediate effect. Artio's data
trading
Bloomo Securities, which provides a US stock investment app, has raised a total of 2 billion yen in a Series A round through a third-party allocation of shares to Global Brain, ANRI, Spiral Capital, Portage Ventures, MUFG Innovation Partners, Angle Bridge, Sumitomo Corporation Venture & Innovation, and Scrum Ventures. This
blockchain
NTT East has selected SettleMint as the Blockchain as a Service (BaaS) platform to support its initiatives in regional public administration and local economic development. This collaboration marks a major step in NTT East’s commitment to leveraging blockchain technology to enhance regional services and strengthen digital transformation efforts. Matthew
artificial intelligence
MUFG has formulated the MUFG AI Policy, under which MUFG Group will safely and securely utilize AI through measures including implementing AI governance and dialogue with various stakeholders. This policy will support MUFG's aim to contribute to solving customer, economic, and social issues, and to sustainable development through
security token
TIS, a member of the TIS INTEC Group, and Kyoto Table Tennis Club have issued digital corporate bonds called "Kaguya Smile Token" through private placement, using TIS's platform "STLINK" which comprehensively supports the issuance and management of security tokens. Kyoto Table Tennis Club operates
weekly
Welcome to the one hundred third edition of the Japan FinTech Observer. The Bank of Japan meets for its Monetary Policy Meeting this week. The consensus is for no change in the policy rate. The Nikkei reports real wages down 1.8% in January, the first time in negative territory
credit card
The Japan Consumer Credit Association (JCA) has published the final version of, and outlined the key revisions to the Credit Card Security Guidelines, Version 6.0, focusing on enhancements to address evolving fraud risks and emerging technologies in the credit card payment ecosystem. The revisions are primarily aimed at strengthening
payments
In response to the advancement of financial digitalization, and to ensure user protection while promoting innovation, it is necessary to: * subject certain fund transfers involving the movement of funds from domestic to foreign locations or from foreign to domestic locations (where a person who has been entrusted by a creditor
supervision
The Bank of Japan (BOJ) annually establishes examination implementation policies. These policies are updated each year by the BOJ's Policy Board. In 2025, the policy document outlines the approach to onsite examinations and offsite monitoring of financial institutions. It emphasizes the importance of understanding changes in the financial