The Tokyo Stock Exchange needs to be a world-class stock exchange, otherwise Japan will lose its economic clout, Tokyo Stock Exchange Inc. Chairman Taizo Nishimuro says.

"If we don't create world-class functions for a Japanese stock exchange, Japan as a whole will not be in a position to exercise its strength," Nishimuro said in an interview last week.

"The TSE may be in danger of being left behind in the world, unless it takes the initiative in deepening partnerships with overseas markets from a global perspective," he added.