Speaking at PRI in Person Tokyo 2023, Prime
Minister KISHIDA Fumio expressed the importanceof Japan’s policies that will help solve the world’s
problems and encourage corporate activities andinvestments to achieve sustainable growth.

JAPAN’S INCREASINGLYATTRACTIVE FINANCIAL
MARKETS:PROMOTING JAPAN AS A LEADING ASSETMANAGEMENT CENTER

To promote it as a leading asset management center, Japan is advancing a variety of reforms through cooperation with thepublic and private sectors. A range of events were held in the fall of 2023 aimed at investors and asset managementcompanies from around the world, providing a great opportunity to communicate the appeal of Japan’s financial markets.
Japan is undertaking various initiatives to promote
it as a leading asset management center. One of these
initiatives, dubbed “Japan Weeks” by the Financial
Services Agency, was a series of events running from
September to October 2023 that welcomed overseas
investors and asset management companies to Japan.
Prime Minister KISHIDA Fumio also took thestage daily at related events to announce variousmoves to realize that goal. At PRI in Person Tokyo
2023, a forum for leading investors who are driving
global responsible investment, he stated, “Ourobjective is that public pension funds reinforce theirwork on sustainable finance and spread the movement
to the whole financial market.” The Principles
for Responsible Investment (PRI) are advocatedby the United Nations (UN) for the purpose ofincorporating ESG (environmental, social, andgovernance) considerations into investors’ decisionmaking processes. At the forum, global stakeholders
responsible for promoting the PRI were thrilled tohear Japan’s prime minister announce that at least
seven representative public pension funds, worth
90 trillion yen, or some 600 billion dollars in assets
under management (AUM), will start preparations

fornewly
becoming
signatories to the PRI.
With such statements
being made, how do Japan’s
financial markets appear
in the eyes of investors
aroundtheworld?
According to ONOZUKA
Emi, president and CEOof Eminent Group, “Japanoffers three attractive
points as a capital market.”A specialist in sustainablefinance, she has more than
20 years of experience as
an institutional investor
at several global financial institutions. Japan’s first
big attraction is that it boasts nearly 4,000 listedcompanies, considerably more than other leading
markets in Asia, indicating the country’s highliquidity and market depth. Japan’s second big draw
is the level of trust in its regulators. Only with such
trust can investors around the world focus on theirinvestment activities. The third point is that Japan
is fundamentally an open market in which anyone
can participate. Some countries may have a greaternumber of companies or areas for investment, butthey sometimes need to make further regulatory andsupervisory improvements, and their markets are notalways open to everyone. “Scale, trust, and openness:those are Japan’s three strengths,” affirms Onozuka.
She also goes on to say that Japan should focus
on the following to become even more attractive asa market: “Many firms here need to improve theirinvestment efficiency. In terms of winning investment
from overseas, the pressing issues are top management
being true to their words and better accountability
as an outcome measure, as well as more English
support.” In that regard, expectations are growing
for the establishment of “special business zones forfinancial and asset management business,” which
Prime Minister Kishida announced in New Yorkin September 2023; the details will be announced
by summer 2024. Various measures to enhance thebusiness and living environment, including theimprovement of administrative services in English,

Top: ONOZUKA Emi took thestage at PRI in Person Tokyo 2023
to give a speech on leadership,innovation, and responsibleinvesting.
Right: Onozuka has more than 20
years of experience as an
institutional investor, specializing
in sustainable finance (ESG,impact investing). She engages in awide range of activities, including
advisory services, research, writing,and lectures on sustainable financeand business value creation.

will be considered for the establishment of the special
business zones.
Meanwhile, Onozuka has high hopes for Japan’scommitment to ESG investment, as made by Prime
Minister Kishida at the recent PRI forum. “Fordomestic and international investors, improving
corporate governance and addressing sustainability
issues have become essential prerequisites forevaluating and funding a company. Accelerating
sustainable finance, which is strengthened throughthe joint efforts of the public and private sectors,
should become an additional advantage of theJapanese market. If we can capitalize on that, there
is a good chance that the domestic market will takea leadership role in transition finance regionwide inAsia.”
With Prime Minister Kishida’s determination,
Japan will continue to work together with boththe public and private sectors to make its financial
markets even more robust and sustainable.