September 17, 2024
Publication of the draft “Cabinet Office Order Establishing Measures Concerning Special Provisions of the ‘Cabinet Office Order on Projects Pertaining to Regulations Prescribed by Cabinet Order, etc.,’ Which Are Within the Purview of the Financial Services Agency (FSA) as Prescribed in Article 26 of the National Strategic Special Zones Act” for public consultation
The FSA proposed the draft “Cabinet Office Order Establishing Measures Concerning Special Provisions of the ‘Cabinet Office Order on Projects Pertaining to Regulations Prescribed by Cabinet Order, etc.,’ Which Are Within the Purview of the Financial Services Agency (FSA) as Prescribed in Article 26 of the National Strategic Special Zones Act” (hereinafter referred to as “the proposal”) for public consultation.
The proposal is intended to implement the special measures on regional regulations set forth in the “Policy Package to Achieve Special Zones for Financial and Asset Management Businesses,” which was compiled in June 2024, mainly by easing some restrictions on bank investments in GX (Green Transformation)-related businesses and on investors who can invest in professional venture funds.
Public comments will be accepted until 5:00 p.m. [JST], October 17, 2024.
Note: The special measures are limited to the national strategic special zone pertaining to the relevant project implementation area.
The original press release is available in Japanese.
September 17, 2024
Publication of the finalized “Points to Note Regarding Disclosure of a Tender Offer (Guidelines for Disclosure of a Tender Offer)” [provisional English title] after public consultation
The FSA published the finalized “Points to Note Regarding Disclosure of a Tender Offer (Guidelines for Disclosure of a Tender Offer)” [provisional English title] after public consultation.
The finalized Guidelines provide the Kanto Local Finance Bureau, which examines disclosure documents regarding a tender offer for share certificates, etc. by persons other than issuers, with points to note in the screening of such documents, as well as to set out approaches in assessing disclosure items, etc. required to be included in the documents under the applicable laws and regulations.
The finalized Guidelines will take effect on October 1, 2024.
The original press release is available in Japanese.
September 13, 2024
Publication of the finalized amendments to the FSA’s regulatory notices concerning the “designated IFRSs” after public consultation
The FSA finalized the amendments to the regulatory notices concerning the “designated International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRSs)” stipulated in the “Regulation for Terminology, Forms and Preparation of Consolidated Financial Statements” after public consultation.
The finalized amendments mainly reflect the financial standards that were newly added* or amended** by the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) in the “designated IFRSs.”
* The standards newly added by the IASB are:
– IFRS 18 Presentation and Disclosure in Financial Statements, and
– IFRS 19 Subsidiaries without Public Accountability: Disclosures.
** The standards amended by the IASB are:
– IFRS 7 Financial Instruments: Disclosures, and
– IFRS 9 Financial Instruments.
The finalized amendments took effect on September 13, 2024.
The original press release is available in Japanese.
September 13, 2024
Publication of the finalized “Cabinet Office Order to Amend the Cabinet Office Order on Definitions Under Article 2 of the Financial Instruments and Exchange Act” and others after public consultation
The FSA published the finalized “Cabinet Office Order to Amend the Cabinet Office Order on Definitions Under Article 2 of the Financial Instruments and Exchange Act” and others after public consultation.
The finalized Cabinet Office Order mainly sets forth increases in the amount of one-time contributions to shareholding associations that meet certain requirements and expand the scope of such contributions.
The finalized Cabinet Office Order will be enforced on January 1, 2025.
The original press release is available in Japanese.
September 13, 2024
Publication of draft “Cabinet Orders and Cabinet Office Orders Pertaining to the Amendments to the Financial Instruments and Exchange Act, etc.,” and others for public consultation
The FSA has published the draft “Cabinet Orders and Cabinet Office Orders Pertaining to the Amendments to the Financial Instruments and Exchange Act, etc.,” and others (hereinafter collectively referred to as the “proposal”) for public consultation.
The proposal is intended to ease the requirements for PTS (Proprietary Trading System) business, which only handles unlisted securities with a limited size of transactions and low liquidity, so that it can be operated only with registration as Type I Financial Instruments Business.
In particular, the proposal is intended to develop a regulatory system to ensure fairness of transactions and price transparency, along with the easing of the maximum trading volume limit in the PTS auction method and the expansion of the scope of exemption from the application of the “five percent (5%) rule”* of TOB (Tender Offer Bid) rules/regulations.
Public comments will be accepted until 5:00 p.m. [JST], October 13, 2024.
* The current TOB rules/regulations require tender offers to be made mainly in cases where:
– the voting rights ratio exceeds 5% after purchase from many people (more than 10 people over 60 days) through off-market trades (known as the “5% rule”), or
– the voting rights ratio exceeds one-third after purchase through off-market trades or market trades (off-floor transaction) (known as the “one-third rule”).
The original press release is available in Japanese.
Press Releases
Policies
Securities
September 19, 2024
Administrative monetary penalty against an individual (non-insider) for spreading unfounded rumors regarding stocks of Human Metabolome Technologies, Inc.
On September 18, 2024, the FSA issued an order to impose an administrative monetary penalty against an individual (non-insider) for spreading unfounded rumors regarding stocks of Human Metabolome Technologies, Inc., in violation of the “Financial Instruments and Exchange Act.”
The original press release is available in Japanese.
Others
September 17, 2024
Publication of “Statistics of NISA Accounts” as of June 30, 2024
The FSA has published “Statistics of NISA (Nippon Individual Savings Account) Accounts.” As of June 30, 2024, there were approximately 24.3 million NISA accounts* in total, and approximately 45.4 trillion yen (approximately 323.4 billion USD) was invested through the NISA accounts.
* NISA accounts in this context mean those under the “New NISA (Nippon Individual Savings Account, a revamped tax exemption program for small investment)” [introduced in January 2024], where the NISA system is made permanent. Under the New NISA system, annual investment caps are expanded and the tax-exempt holding period is made indefinite.
The original press release is available in Japanese.
September 17, 2024
Updated list of issuers of gift certificates in repayment procedures based on the “Payment Services Act”
