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Summary of the Press Conference by Minister of Finance and Minister of State for Financial Services Katayama following the Cabinet Meeting (September 29, 2026) AIAI translation
AI At the post-Cabinet press conference on September 29, 2026, Finance Minister Katayama said the Cabinet approved the use of reserve funds totaling 1,119 billion yen (781 billion yen for register support and related measures, 338 billion yen for tax system modifications and related work) to prepare for the reduction of the consumption tax rate on food and beverages and the introduction of a support payment to ease the burden on workers, both scheduled for April 2027. He also reported that the fourth project under the Payment Innovation Project (PIP), a proof-of-concept trial of blockchain-based trade settlement, had been selected for support. In the Q&A he addressed the September 25 phone call with US Treasury Secretary Bessent, long-term interest rates, the requested inspection planning office at the FSA, and the role of the RCC.
Summary of Finance Minister Katayama's Press Conference Following the Cabinet Meeting (September 25, 2026) AIAI translation
AI At his post-cabinet press conference on 25 September 2026, Finance Minister Katayama said that, while the specific methods of monetary policy should be left to the Bank of Japan, he regards its 18 September raising of the policy rate from about 1.0% to about 1.25% as a step toward achieving the 2% price stability target. He declined to comment on exchange rate and long-term interest rate movements or on any rate check, but disclosed that at the Japan-US summit President Trump voiced concern about the weak yen and Prime Minister Takaichi said in general terms that undervaluation of the yen is a problem, and that he will continue close discussions with Treasury Secretary Bessent, including on exchange rates.
Hosting of Overseas Authority Officials at the Global Financial Partnership Center (29th Session: 15 Insurance Supervisory Authority Officials) AIAI translation
AI The Financial Services Agency's Global Financial Partnership Center (GLOPAC) invited 15 officials from overseas insurance supervisory authorities from 25 August to 3 September 2026 for its 29th training program, which presented the FSA's approach to key issues in insurance regulation and supervision and included an exchange of views on policy challenges. As of September 2026, including activities under its predecessor AFPAC, it has run 29 training programs and similar activities for overseas financial authority staff, hosting a total of 281 participants as researchers and in other capacities.
Regulatory thresholds set to shift to automatic increases
Results of the September 2026 survey on credit terms and conditions in euro-denominated securities financing and OTC derivatives markets (SESFOD)
AI The ECB's September 2026 SESFOD survey, covering June to August 2026 and based on responses from 26 large banks, found that overall credit terms and conditions eased slightly for all counterparty types for a fourth consecutive quarter, mainly through price terms. Demand for securities financing rose for equities and most other collateral types, haircuts decreased, and initial margins fell slightly for several non-centrally cleared OTC derivative types, while valuation disputes increased for several derivative types, particularly credit derivatives.
Summary of the Press Conference by Minister of Finance Katayama following the Cabinet Meeting (Tuesday, October 6, 2026) AIAI translation
AI At the press conference after the Cabinet meeting on October 6, 2026, Finance Minister Katayama explained that funding for the consumption tax rate cut on food and beverages will be secured without relying on special deficit-financing bonds, as set out in the outline approved by the Cabinet on September 15. He also answered questions on the possible leak of about 220,000 Daiwa Securities customer records, the surge in low-value import parcels, the review of unlisted share valuation, the Park24 personal data leak and tax-law record-keeping obligations, and sovereign wealth funds.
Approval of Retail Prices of Manufactured Tobacco AIAI translation
AI This Ministry of Finance page, titled "Approval of Retail Prices of Manufactured Tobacco," lists PDFs for each approval and change approval of manufactured tobacco retail prices, from the latest dated 6 October 2026 (Reiwa 8) back to around October 2024 (Reiwa 6).
Status of Foreign Reserves and Related Assets (as of End of September, Reiwa 8 [2026]) AIAI translation
AI The Ministry of Finance announced that Japan's foreign reserves at the end of September 2026 stood at USD 1,178,396 million, a decrease of USD 29,128 million from the end of August. The reserves comprised foreign currency assets of USD 976,913 million, an IMF reserve position of USD 11,344 million, SDRs of USD 60,783 million, gold of USD 113,592 million (27.20 million troy ounces) and other reserve assets of USD 15,764 million; other foreign currency assets were USD 35,110 million.
Publication of the Summary of Discussions by the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision AIAI translation
AI The Financial Services Agency announced that the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision published the record of its meeting held on 28-29 September 2026 (Reiwa 8). At the meeting, members exchanged views on developments in artificial intelligence and related topics, approved the annual assessment of global systemically important banks, revisions to curb end-of-period window-dressing, and the final standard on machine-readable Pillar 3 disclosures, and agreed to consult on additional Pillar 2 guidance on interest rate risk in the banking book and to present an update by year-end on the targeted review of the prudential standard for banks' crypto-asset exposures.
Minutes of the UK Money Markets Code Sub-Committee – September 2026
Piero Cipollone: Money in the digital age: digital euro, tokenisation and the role of central banks
AI In this speech of 6 October 2026, ECB Executive Board member Piero Cipollone argues that central bank money should be extended into the digital environment while preserving the two-tier system in which public and private money coexist. He presents the digital euro for retail payments, and Pontes and Appia for wholesale tokenised finance, as parts of one strategy to keep central bank money at the heart of retail and wholesale finance and to strengthen European resilience and autonomy.
Frank Elderson: Effective supervision through timely remediation
AI In a contribution to a panel at the 17th FMA Supervisory Conference in Vienna on 6 October 2026, Frank Elderson argues that simplification and effective supervision reinforce each other, with ECB Banking Supervision focusing on material risks, requiring timely and durable remediation of all findings, and escalating to more intrusive tools such as capital requirements, business restrictions or periodic penalty payments where weaknesses persist. He notes that outstanding measures across significant banks had risen to around 12,000 by the end of 2025, about 100 per bank on average, and that low-severity findings now only require banks to confirm compliance without submitting further documentation.
U.S. International Trade in Goods and Services, August 2026
AI The U.S. goods and services trade deficit increased from $92.8 billion in July (revised) to $105.6 billion in August 2026, as imports increased more than exports. The goods deficit rose $12.8 billion to $136.6 billion, while the services surplus rose less than $0.1 billion to $31.0 billion.
Philip R. Lane: Interview with Ansa
AI In an interview conducted on 1 October 2026, Philip R. Lane says the ECB's scenarios are illustrative collections of assumptions, that energy prices are higher than in the baseline but strong second-round effects have not yet been seen, and that AI-related investment and rising long-term yields are key factors. He says AI research is spread across many ECB and Eurosystem groups, and that the interest rate decisions were driven mainly by the inflation implications of the energy shock, with economic resilience helped by fiscal support including the German infrastructure and defence programme and the final year of Next Generation EU.
Extension of Periods of Stay in Connection with the 2026 Kumamoto Earthquake AIAI translation
AI The FSA states that a Ministry of Justice notice (Notice No. 69 of August 7, 2026) uniformly extended to January 27, 2027 the expiry date of the period of stay for persons residing in municipalities where the Disaster Relief Act was applied after the 2026 Kumamoto Earthquake. Because the expiry date printed on residence cards still shows the pre-extension date, concerns have been raised that financial institution accounts might be closed, and the FSA reports that it has issued a notice to relevant industry associations.
Implementation of the Cross-Sector Cybersecurity Exercise for the Financial Industry (Delta Wall 2026) AIAI translation
AI The Financial Services Agency announced that, against a backdrop of increasingly sophisticated and fast-moving cyberattacks, it will hold the 11th cross-sector cybersecurity exercise for the financial industry (Delta Wall 2026) from 6 to 22 October 2026, with a planned 181 participating financial institutions, aiming to improve cyber resilience and incident response capability across the industry.
Signing of the Memorandum of Cooperation on the Japan-Australia Finance Ministers' Dialogue and Holding of the First Japan-Australia Finance Ministers' Dialogue (Monday, October 5, Reiwa 8 [2026]) AIAI translation
AI On October 5, 2026 (Reiwa 8), Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama of Japan and Australian Treasurer Jim Chalmers signed a Memorandum of Cooperation on the Japan-Australia Finance Ministers' Dialogue, and held the first dialogue in Tokyo the same day. The two ministers exchanged views on macroeconomics and economic security, investment cooperation, and international cooperation, and confirmed that they would further deepen cooperation between the two countries.
Publication of the Asia Region Funds Passport (ARFP) "2025 Annual Report" AIAI translation
AI The Financial Services Agency updated its Asia Region Funds Passport (ARFP) page in October 2026 (Reiwa 8) and newly posted the "2025 Annual Report" among its published materials. The ARFP is a framework in which participating APEC economies harmonize regulation to make it easier to sell funds that meet investor protection requirements across one another's markets; the ARFP Joint Committee was established on June 30, 2016.