Japan FinTech Observer #157

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Welcome to the fourth year, and the one hundred fifty-seventh edition of the Japan FinTech Observer. This week, we are excited to have new subscribers join us from Mitsui & Co., Ltd., SBI Digital Markets, Cherubic Ventures, Societe Generale Corporate and Investment Banking — SGCIB, and Visa, among others 🙏

To receive individual articles straight to your inbox when released, please subscribe to the Japan FinTech Observer on its own website.

With the Japanese fiscal year coming to an end, we wish everyone who is taking up new responsibilities, or joining a new company on April 1, all the best for the next stage of their careers!

Here is what we are going to cover this week:

• Venture Capital & Private Markets: Startale Group secures USD 63m Series A as Sony and SBI Group signal strong support for web3 infrastructure; GMO Venture Partners joins USD 20m Series B round for Indian InsurTech leader Plum; SoftBank secures massive USD 40bn bridge facility to fuel aggressive OpenAI expansion; SBI Ventures Europe and Speedinvest forge 50/50 joint venture to bridge Japanese and European startup ecosystems
• Insurance: Berkshire Hathaway subsidiary NICO takes strategic stake in Tokio Marine in major reinsurance and M&A alliance; Japan’s insurance crackdown — mega-agencies face new compliance hammer in 2026
• Banking: the formation of Chiba Financial Group; banking on the “Golden Route” — Shizuoka Financial Group and Bank of Nagoya unveil JPY 22trn integration plan; Nanto Bank taps IBM and Money Forward X to bridge the gap between accounting and banking
• Payments: OKI and Hitachi to integrate ATM businesses
• Capital Markets: the Financial Times reported that a full takeover of Jefferies by SMBC Group is in the works; Okasan Securities throws in the towel, transfers online business to SBI Securities; Daiwa Connect and GMO Aozora Net Bank launch joint initiative for corporate banking and workplace investing
• Asset Management: MUFG to merge eSmart Securities and WealthNavi in bold move to dominate AI-native Wealth Management
• Digital Assets: BITPOINT forms quad-party alliance to integrate DVT for institutional Ethereum staking
• The Last Word: Tokyo Returns into the Top Ten Global Financial Centers

Venture Capital & Private Markets

• Startale Group secures USD 63m Series A as Sony and SBI Group signal strong support for web3 infrastructure: Startale Group has successfully closed its Series A funding round, raising a total of $63 million to accelerate the development of its vertically integrated blockchain ecosystem; the final tally was reached following a significant $50 million second-close investment from the Japanese financial titan SBI Group, complementing an initial $13 million injection from the Sony Innovation Fund earlier this year; the capital infusion indicates strong support for the Singapore-based firm as it seeks to bridge the gap between traditional finance and the onchain economy; Startale, led by CEO Sota Watanabe, intends to use the funds to build out a comprehensive technology stack that spans Ethereum Layer 2 networks, stablecoin issuance, and consumer-facing applications
• GMO Venture Partners joins USD 20m Series B round for Indian InsurTech leader Plum: Plum, the Bengaluru-based health insurance and employee benefits platform, has successfully secured $20 million (approximately ₹193 crore) in a Series B funding round; while the round was led by Peak XV Partners, a significant highlight of this latest capital injection is the participation of GMO Venture Partners, who joins the company’s cap table as a new strategic investor; existing backer Tanglin Venture Partners also participated in the round, which follows Plum’s transition into a period of sustained financial health; the company recently reported EBITDA and cash flow profitability for the full fiscal year 2025, recording revenues in the neighborhood of ₹700 million
• SoftBank secures massive USD 40bn bridge facility to fuel aggressive OpenAI expansion: SoftBank Group has signaled a return to its high-octane investment roots, having secured a staggering $40 billion bridge loan to bankroll its deepening partnership with ChatGPT-maker OpenAI; the unsecured facility, which matures in March 2027, represents a significant escalation in Chairman Masayoshi Son’s quest to dominate the generative AI landscape; the loan was arranged through a syndicate of top-tier global lenders, including JPMorgan Chase, Goldman Sachs, Mizuho Bank, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, and MUFG Bank; according to company filings, the primary driver for the capital raise is a $30 billion follow-on investment in OpenAI via SoftBank’s Vision Fund 2; this move solidifies SBG’s position as a cornerstone backer of the AI pioneer, which remains at the center of a global arms race for large language model supremacy

New Funds

• SBI Ventures Europe and Speedinvest forge 50/50 joint venture to bridge Japanese and European startup ecosystems: SBI Holdings and Vienna-based venture capital firm Speedinvest GmbH have established a strategic partnership and a new 50/50 joint venture (JV) with a view to deepen capital ties between Asia and Europe; the joint venture, formed specifically between Speedinvest and SBI’s wholly owned subsidiary, SBI Ventures Europe, is designed to serve as a high-velocity bridge for cross-border investment; by combining SBI Group’s global financial network with Speedinvest’s specialized pan-European platform, the two firms aim to streamline capital flows between Japan and Europe’s burgeoning tech sectors

Insurance

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• Berkshire Hathaway subsidiary NICO takes strategic stake in Tokio Marine in major reinsurance and M&A alliance: Tokio Marine Holdings announced a comprehensive strategic partnership with National Indemnity Company (NICO), the core reinsurance arm of Berkshire Hathaway, allowing Warren Buffett to significantly expand his footprint in the Japanese financial sector; the alliance centers on a multi-billion dollar equity investment, a deep integration of reinsurance operations, and a commitment to joint global M&A ventures; under the terms of the agreement, NICO will acquire a 2.49% ownership stake in Tokio Marine through a third-party allotment of 48,207,200 treasury shares; the shares are priced at 5,962 yen each, representing a total transaction value of approximately 287.4 billion yen ($1.9 billion USD)
• Japan’s insurance crackdown — mega-agencies face new compliance hammer in 2026: the regulatory fog surrounding Japan’s insurance sector is finally clearing, and for the nation’s largest multi-agent players, the forecast is heavy oversight; following a series of structural scandals that rocked the non-life insurance industry, the Financial Services Agency has unveiled a sweeping set of amendments to the Insurance Business Act and its accompanying Cabinet Office Ordinances; the message is clear: the era of “self-regulation” for large-scale agencies is over; we offer a breakdown of the new regulatory landscape, scheduled to take full effect on June 1, 2026

Banking

• The formation of Chiba Financial Group: in September 2025, The Chiba Bank and The Chiba Kogyo Bank have jointly declared their resolution to pursue a management consolidation; formalized at the time through the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding, the move aims to establish a new bank holding company that will serve as the wholly-owning parent of both institutions; to that extent, the Consolidation Agreement has been executed this past week; the consolidation, planned to be effective on or around April 1, 2027, is a forward-looking response to the evolving economic landscape, increasing complexity of customer needs, and the intensifying competition within the financial services industry
• Banking on the “Golden Route” — Shizuoka Financial Group and Bank of Nagoya unveil JPY 22trn integration plan: Shizuoka Financial Group and The Bank of Nagoya have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to pursue a full-scale business integration; the deal, which aims to create a “top-tier” regional powerhouse, is structured as a share exchange that would see Shizuoka FG become the wholly-owning parent company of The Bank of Nagoya; if approved by shareholders and regulators, the integration is scheduled to take effect on April 1, 2028
• Nanto Bank taps IBM and Money Forward X to bridge the gap between accounting and banking: following the recent announcement to engage with Infcurion in the face of the 2027 promissory note phase-out, Nara-based Nanto Bank continues to push forward the modernization of its banking stack by entering into a three-way collaboration with Money Forward X and IBM Japan to develop an integrated digital platform for corporate clients; the “Integrated Digital Channel,” scheduled for launch in Autumn 2027, aims to unify accounting workflows with financial transactions into a single, seamless ecosystem
• Midori Yamaguchi writes about “Preventive Debt Restructuring in Japan”, published in the March issue of “The Diiigest”, a publication of the International Insolvency Institute

Payments

• OKI and Hitachi to integrate ATM businesses: in a move to consolidate their footprint in the financial hardware market, Oki Electric Industry (OKI) and Hitachi have entered a definitive agreement to integrate their automated teller machine (ATM) and automated equipment businesses; the deal, structured as a joint venture, aims to combat the headwinds of a global shift toward cashless payments while leveraging new opportunities in digital banking infrastructure; under the terms of the “Integration Agreement,” OKI will transfer its development and production arms for automated equipment to Hitachi Channel Solutions (HCS), a wholly owned subsidiary of Hitachi; following an absorption-type split, OKI will acquire a controlling interest in the entity; the resulting joint venture will be owned 60% by OKI and 40% by Hitachi
• Alongside the MoneyX conference, Coinpost and collaborators have published “Japan’s Stablecoin Vision: Building the next financial infrastructure”

Economics

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• “Sanaenomics” meets geopolitical strife — why Japanese yields are bracing for a steep climb: the Japanese bond market is entering a period of renewed volatility as a “perfect storm” of domestic policy shifts and Middle Eastern geopolitical tensions pushes interest rates toward new highs; according to a fresh analysis from Sony Financial Group, the era of low rates is facing its most significant challenge yet, with the 10-year JGB yield recently breaching the 2.3% mark
• The Bank of Japan has published “Changes in Perceptions about Monetary Policy: Estimating the Policy Reaction Function Using Market Survey Data”: the authors of this Bank of Japan Working Paper estimate the policy reaction function of monetary policy as perceived by Japan’s market participants, using market survey data; their results suggest that the perceptions of monetary policy among private agents are state-dependent, and that the macroeconomic stability and the effectiveness of monetary policy may vary over time
• BOJ IMES has published “Decomposing Loan Rate Dispersion in the Interbank Market”: using transaction-level data, the authors documented dispersion in uncollateralized overnight loan rates even during periods of low interest rates in Japan
• Alexis Stenfors has published “Navigating the Japanese Markets with TONA Futures”: this paper examines the interaction between Japan’s monetary policy normalization and geopolitical uncertainty through the lens of Tokyo Overnight Average (TONA)-indexed instruments
• In their “Weekly Market View” for March 27, Standard Chartered analysts evaluate “How might Japan’s “Shunto” spring wage negotiation results and inflation affect the Bank of Japan’s rate path, the JPY, and Japan equities?” (see chart below)

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Capital Markets

• The Financial Times reported that a full takeover of Jefferies by SMBC Group is in the works; our last reporting on the matter covered SMBC Group and Jefferies launching a Wholesale Japanese Equities Joint Venture; Jefferies reported mildly disappointing results for its fiscal first quarter (ending in February) last week, and is currently under investigation by the German financial regulator for its role in Unicredit’s attempt to take over Commerzbank, so SMBC’s timing might just be right
• Okasan Securities throws in the towel, transfers online business to SBI Securities: SBI Securities and Okasan Securities have entered into an absorption-type split agreement; under the terms of the deal, Okasan Securities will transfer a significant portion of its “Okasan Online” business to SBI Securities, the industry leader; the transfer, scheduled to take effect on October 13, 2026, marks a deepening of the existing partnership between the SBI and Okasan groups, who have previously collaborated in the asset management sector
• Daiwa Connect and GMO Aozora Net Bank launch joint initiative for corporate banking and workplace investing: Daiwa Connect Securities and GMO Aozora Net Bank have entered into a partnership to cross-promote corporate accounts and “Workplace NISA” services; the collaboration aims to realize synergies between two major FinTech players: Daiwa Connect, a smartphone-native brokerage under the Daiwa Securities Group umbrella, and GMO Aozora Net Bank, a digital bank known for its “Technology Bank” positioning and a corporate client base exceeding 200,000 accounts
• Japan Exchange Group has published the “Status of Efforts to Lower Investment Units”: following the publication of the “Report on the Study Group on Small-Size Investments” (April 2025), the Tokyo Stock Exchange has been steadily implementing various initiatives outlined in the report as part of its action plan; going forward, TSE will continue to update these initiatives based on feedback from listed companies and investors

Asset Management

• The latest Bank of Japan Flow of Funds Survey, for the period ending December 31, 2025, shows household assets increasing to JPY 2,351 trillion, of which 48.5% are being held as currency and deposits — please update your pitch deck to capture the “tansu yokin” and move them into more productive investments accordingly
• MUFG to merge eSmart Securities and WealthNavi in bold move to dominate AI-native Wealth Management: MUFG has announced a major strategic overhaul of its retail financial services, centered on the launch of a new digital-first entity created through the merger of Mitsubishi UFJ eSmart Securities and robo-advisor pioneer WealthNavi; the move marks the next phase of MUFG’s “Emutto” brand strategy; the Japanese banking giant aims to create a seamless, “AI-native” ecosystem that integrates banking and asset management to capture a broader share of the digital-savvy retail market
• Nature-positive investment — a strategic implementation framework for asset owners: a recently published report by Pensions for Purpose in collaboration with MUFG First Sentier investigates how global asset owners are integrating nature and biodiversity into their investment processes; while the financial sector has historically focused on climate change, this research highlights a growing shift toward recognizing biological loss as a systemic financial risk; based on interviews with twenty institutional investors, the text outlines the adoption of frameworks like the Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD) to map dependencies and impacts

Digital Assets

• BITPOINT forms quad-party alliance to integrate DVT for institutional Ethereum staking: BITPOINT Japan, a subsidiary of the SBI Group, has entered into a landmark four-party strategic partnership to integrate Distributed Validator Technology (DVT) into its Ethereum management infrastructure for corporate clients; the alliance sees SSV Labs, the developers of the world’s largest DVT protocol “SSV Network,” joining an existing collaboration between BITPOINT, IT consulting firm Def consulting, and staking infrastructure provider P2P.org; the partnership centers on the “Ethereum Treasury Strategy” spearheaded by Def consulting; under this framework, Def consulting incorporates Ethereum (ETH) into its balance sheet to enhance long-term corporate value; while BITPOINT provides the trading and storage foundation and P2P.org manages validator operations, the addition of SSV Labs introduces a layer of decentralization previously unavailable to the Japanese corporate market
• Samsung Securities has covered Hyperithm, a premier digital asset manager based in Tokyo and Seoul, which is active in quant trading and venture investments, in a dedicated report

The Last Word: Tokyo Returns into the Top Ten Global Financial Centers

The latest release of the Global Financial Centres Index (GFCI 39) has sent a clear signal to the markets: Tokyo is back in the elite circle. Tokyo has surged five places to reclaim its position in the world’s top 10, officially landing at 10th place globally.

This comeback comes at the expense of American heavyweights Chicago and Los Angeles, both of which were pushed out of the top tier by the Japanese capital and a rising Dubai. While the overall index saw a general cooling of ratings across nearly all jurisdictions — with Tokyo’s own rating slipping by 5 points to 739 — its relative competitiveness has outpaced its peers.

Tokyo’s return to form is anchored by its powerhouse performance in core industry sectors. The city is now ranked 4th in the world for both Banking and Trading, trailing only the “Big Three” (New York, London, and Hong Kong/Singapore). It also holds strong top-10 positions in Professional Services and Government & Regulatory sub-indices.

Market analysts point to Tokyo’s “Reputational Advantage” as a key driver of this ascent. With a reputational score of 798 against its quantitative rating of 739, the city enjoys a “reputational advantage” of 59 points, suggesting that international professionals view the city more favorably than the raw data alone might indicate. Furthermore, in an era of heightened geopolitical volatility, Tokyo is categorized in the report as a “Stable Centre,” characterized by low sensitivity to instrumental factor changes and consistent assessment scores.

Looking ahead, the outlook for the Japanese capital remains bullish. Tokyo appears on the “Future Prospects” shortlist of centers likely to become more significant over the next three years, and its FinTech sector is also on the move, climbing three spots to rank 15th globally.

As the Asia/Pacific region continues to consolidate its influence — now boasting six of the world’s top 10 hubs — Tokyo’s resurgence proves that the old guard of the East still has the momentum to challenge the global status quo.

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