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Taiga Uranaka
Fumitaka Nakahama, Head of Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group's global corporate and investment banking business, speaks in an interview in Tokyo on Sept. 7.
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 13, 2023
MUFG battles private equity and startups to hire U.S. bankers
MUFG is plowing more resources into the American market in a bid to grow alongside established powerhouses.
Mizuho Financial Group has been expanding its presence in the United States to tap the world’s biggest fee pool, becoming one of the four global investment banks leading Arm's IPO.
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 8, 2023
Mizuho's SoftBank ties boost Wall Street ambitions via Arm IPO
The bank has been expanding its presence in the U.S. to tap the world’s biggest fee pool, even as deals slump globally following the pandemic.
The Financial Services Agency said in its annual policy guidance that overseas real estate is among the credit risks to watch this year and that it will assess major banks' "situation of loans” made in this sector.
BUSINESS
Aug 30, 2023
Japan regulator to evaluate banks’ commercial property exposure
Commercial real estate has become one of the highest-profile asset classes hit by rapid rate hikes.
Nippon Life Insurance headquarters in Osaka. Japanese insurers are seeking more investments in private credit, attracted to their floating interest rates as global borrowing costs jump.
BUSINESS / Companies
Aug 18, 2023
Private credit boom attracts Japan insurers with $2.6 trillion
Dai-ichi Life Insurance and Nippon Life Insurance are among companies that are seeking more investments in private credit.
The BOJ’s monetary easing has kept the benchmark yield on 10-year JGBs below 1% for over a decade, and most traders have never experienced a major surge in rates that would put them at risk of large writedowns.
BUSINESS
Aug 16, 2023
Traders who survived the 1980s become must-have hires in Japan
With the benchmark yield on 10-year JGBs below 1% for over a decade, most traders have never experienced a surge in rates that would put them at risk.
Hiroyuki Nagai, president and chief executive officer of Rakuten Bank (left), attends the company's listing ceremony at the Tokyo Stock Exchange on April 21.
BUSINESS / Companies
Aug 8, 2023
Rakuten Bank sees edge over rivals once BOJ ends negative rates
Uncertainty remains over when the Bank of Japan will scrap the policy, which has squeezed banks’ lending margins since its introduction seven years ago.
Signage for Sumitomo Mitsui Banking (right) and Mizuho Bank (center) in Tokyo. Two of Japan's mega-banks reported solid quarterly profit on Monday.
BUSINESS
Jul 31, 2023
Japan’s biggest banks beat estimates, adding to BOJ tailwind
Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group said net income for the quarter ending June 30 was ¥248 billion, while Mizuho Financial Group’s was ¥245.2 billion.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jun 28, 2023
Japan's mega-bank CEOs paid less than global peers despite near-record profits
Japanese companies have traditionally seen compensation as a reward for rising successfully through the ranks, while paychecks elsewhere tend to reflect performance.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 27, 2023
Mizuho rolls out generative AI to all 45,000 bank staff in Japan
Already, managers and rank-and-file employees are submitting dozens of pitches for ways to harness the technology even before the software is installed.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jun 23, 2023
Japan’s biggest bank in talks to issue global stablecoins
MUFG is in discussions with multiple parties about using its blockchain platform, Progmat, to mint stablecoins tied to foreign currencies.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
May 30, 2023
Wall Street deals show unfulfilled ambition of Japan’s megabanks
Japanese lenders have so far made slow progress cracking the U.S. market.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
May 15, 2023
Japan's top banks expect solid profits, MUFG sees record year
Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group and Mizuho Financial Group, Japan's second- and third-largest lenders by assets, also expect their highest net profits since the mid 2010s.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
May 3, 2023
Here are five ways finance is trying to de-risk heat waves
From heatstroke insurance to plans that reimburse dairy farmers when cows are too hot to produce milk, a new wave of products may help communities.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Economy
Apr 25, 2023
Bankers chase startups in Japan as funding dries up elsewhere
Lenders including Sumitomo Mitsui Banking and Mizuho Bank are planning to increase the staff they allocate to startup businesses.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Apr 19, 2023
Japanese banks face ‘gender washing’ spotlight on its managers
The issue has broader implications for other industries in Japan, which has long lagged behind global counterparts for workplace diversity.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Economy
Apr 11, 2023
Regulator urges local banks to improve asset portfolio management
The FSA has been warning of risks posed by rising interest rates to regional lenders’ bond holdings long before the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank last month.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Apr 3, 2023
Sumitomo Mitsui wants Wall Street bankers for U.S. expansion
The newly appointed head of the firm’s core banking unit says the downturn in the global economy will help it attract talent as it seeks to boost areas like sales and trading.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 29, 2023
Japan’s Dai-ichi Life turns $260 billion portfolio toward JGBs
Dai-ichi was among the biggest holders of foreign bonds as a result of the BOJ’s decadelong stimulus drive, but now is increasing investments in superlong government bonds.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Mar 24, 2023
Why Japanese banks are well placed to withstand banking crisis
Regulators and industry heads have been quick to say Japan’s financial system is sound, while analysts have been busy reassuring worried bank investors.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Mar 6, 2023
Kuroda’s decade at the BOJ changed how Japan’s banks make money
Investors prepare for an eventual normalization of monetary policy with BOJ Gov. Haruhiko Kuroda, who introduced negative interest rates, set to hand over the reins.

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Construction takes place on the Takanawa Gateway Convention Center in Tokyo, slated to open in 2025.
A boom for business tourism in Japan?