Legal/Regulatory Information Forum

Explores matters related to legal/tax issues and local regulatory compliance and reporting requirements in Japan that may impact upon members and the financial markets in which they operate.

These meetings are always open to all staff from IBA members.

07-06-2010 Update on the Priorities and Oversight Focus of the SESC Mr. Kiyotaka Sasaki, Director of the SESC’s Strategy and Policy Coordination Division, discussed the SESC’s oversight and enforcement priorities and its new areas of focus to promote greater market integrity. Nearly 40 staff of IBA member firms attended.
05-25-2010 FSA Briefing on New Supervisory Guidelines for Derivatives Transactions Two officials from the FSA’s Supervisory Bureau discussed the recent revisions to the Supervisory Guidelines which strengthen the customer protection requirements for derivatives transactions. Over 100 people attended.
05-19-2010 Special Update: FSA Q&A on TOB and 5% Rule Mr. Oh Miyashita, an attorney with the law office of TMI Associates, spoke on the FSA’s amended Q&A on the takeover bid (TOB) regulations and the FSA’s new Q&A on large shareholder reporting (5% Rule) to over 30 people.
05-17-2010 The SESC's Basic Inspection Policy and Plan for 2010-11 Mr. Shuichi Sonoda, Director of the SESC’s Inspection Division, gave an overview of the recently released inspection policy guidelines for 2010-11 to over 50 staff of member firms.
04-13-2010 The BOJ's On-site Examination Policy and Perspectives on Risk Management Mr. Shuichi Uemura, Deputy Director-General of the Financial Systems and Bank Examination Department, addressed the Bank of Japan’s on-site examinations plans for 2010 to an audience of over 80 people. He also offered some insights on risk management by foreign financial institutions.
12-15-2009 Avoiding Fraud and Dealing with its Consequences Mr. Dominic Roughton and Mr. David Gilmore, Partners in Dispute Resolution at Herbert Smith, offered their insights to an audience of 25 people on how to detect fraud and what to do when a fraud is discovered to minimize risk and maximize financial recovery.
11-11-2009 MOF Briefing on Revisions to the Foreign Exchange Inspection Manual Two foreign exchange examiners from the Ministry of Finance’s International Bureau gave a briefing to over 50 staff of IBA member firms on the recent revisions to the Foreign Exchange Inspection Manual.
09-03-2009 The FSA’s 2009-10 Basic Inspection Policy and Inspection Process Review Two senior FSA officials provided an overview to over 80 people of the financial inspection policies for banks for 2009-10 and of the results of the FSA’s inspection process review.
07-16-2009 Tokyo Stock Exchange Regulation: Current Role and Future Direction Mr. Masakazu Hayashi, President of Tokyo Stock Exchange Regulation, spoke on the current priorities and future plans of TSE Regulation to an audience of 40 people.
06-29-2009 The SESC’s Inspection Review and Basic Inspection Policy for 2009-10 Mr. Toshitake Kurosawa, Director of the Inspection Division of the SESC, gave an overview of the results of the SESC’s inspection review project and of the basic inspection policy for 2009-10 to over 60 staff of IBA member firms.
06-22-2009 An Address by FSA Commissioner Sato The FSA's top official, Commissioner Sato shared his observations with 130 people on the changing regulatory environment over the past two years and the future outlook given the financial crisis.
04-14-2009 Update on the Current Role and Future Direction of the SESC Mr. Kiyotaka Sasaki, Director, Strategy and Policy Coordination Division, discussed the SESC’s oversight and enforcement functions in light of recent market misconducts, and its new areas of focus to promote greater market integrity to an audience of nearly 50 staff from IBA member firms.
03-30-2009 Risk Management Practices in Light of the Global Financial Crisis Mr. Charles Grice, senior consultant of Kroll’s Anti Money Laundering practice and one of the world’s leading advisors to global financial institutions on money laundering prevention, spoke on best practices in risk management in light of the global financial crisis to nearly 40 people.
02-27-2009 Managing Fraud Risk Mr. Stuart Witchell, Japan Representative for International Risk Ltd, described the main types and causes of fraud to 30 people from IBA member firms before providing an overview of strategies to prevent and deal with fraud.
02-13-2009 Japan’s AML Regime: FATF’s Evaluation and Areas for Improvement Two financial industry specialists from Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu discussed Japan’s FATF ranking, describing the gaps between the practices and AML regime of Japanese and global financial institutions. Over 45 people attended.
12-17-2008 FSA Briefing on the New Foreign Bank Agency Business Regime At this exclusive briefing attended by 90 staff of IBA member firms, Mr. Masami Yaneda (Planning & Coordination Bureau) and Mr. Yoshihiko Yamamoto (Supervisory Bureau) highlighted requirements under the new foreign bank agency business regime which came into force on December 12.
11-13-2008 The FSA’s Basic Inspection Policy for 2008-09 Mr. Takashi Nagaoka and Mr. Makoto Sonoda from the FSA’s Inspection Bureau gave an overview of developments related to bank inspections to nearly 70 people. They discussed the Bureau’s efforts towards ‘better regulation’ initiatives in the area of financial inspections and current focuses and priorities.
09-18-2008 The Securities and Exchange Surveillance Commission’s Basic Inspection Guidelines and Plan for 2008-09 Mr. Toshitaka Kurosawa, Director of the SESC’s Inspection Division, gave an overview of the recently released inspection policy guidelines for 2008-09 to over 50 staff of IBA member firms.
06-30-2008 Bank of Japan's On-Site Examinations and Business Continuity Planning (BCP) Three senior BOJ officials from the Financial Systems and Bank Examination Department presented to over 80 staff of IBA member firms on leading practices and examiners’ viewpoints concerning BCP and core elements of on-site examinations.
06-26-2008 Progress Report on the FSA's Efforts Towards Better Regulation The FSA's top official, Commissioner Sato, addressed 150 attendees at a luncheon event on the status of the FSA's efforts to implement "better regulation", including its strategies going forward.
06-11-2008 MOF Briefing on Revisions to the Foreign Exchange Inspection Manual Three MOF foreign exchange examiners provided an overview of recent revisions to the foreign exchange inspection manual, which was updated primarily to reflect the changes arising from the new Law for the Prevention of Transfer Criminal Proceeds that came into force in March 2008.
10-24-2007 The Securities and Exchange Surveillance Commission’s New Strategy Secretary-General Naito will give an overview of the SESC’s new strategy. As the top official in the SESC’s Executive Bureau, Naito-san has overall responsibility for executing the policies agreed upon by the SESC’s Board which consists of three Commissioners.
09-25-2007 The FSA’s Efforts Towards Better Regulation The FSA’s top official, Commissioner Sato, gave an address to 140 people on his vision for “better regulation” which included greater transparency and predictability and increased dialogue with industry.
06-05-2007 Bank of Japan On-Site Examinations and Off-Site Monitoring The IBA welcomed three senior officials from the Bank of Japan, who addressed members on on-site examinations and the off-site monitoring process.

05-10-2007 Seminar on MOF Foreign Exchange Examinations A senior foreign exchange examiner from the Ministry of Finance addressed members on the key elements that comprise MOF foreign exchange examinations, including how they are implemented, and discussed future directions for these examinations.

04-04-2007 Seminar on Anti-Social Forces (Boryokudan) The IBA welcomed Mr. Hiroshi Matsuda from the Tokyo Citizen’s Centre for Anti-Social Forces, who spoke to members on the Japanese boryokudan. Discussing commonly used tactics and patterns in their attempts to extort money from corporations, Mr. Matsuda presented case studies and provided advice for scenarios when bank staff are confronted with threatening behaviour.

02-01-2007 Update on the Current Role and Future Direction of the SESC Mr. Kiyotaka Sasaki, Director of Enforcement at the SESC, briefed over 70 senior staff of IBA member firms on recent market misconducts and the future direction of the SESC in fostering market integrity.

01-19-2007 FSA Briefing on Financial Inspection Manual Revisions Ms. Tomoko Amaya, Director, Planning & Research Office, Inspection Bureau, FSA, presented an update on the changes to the Financial Inspection Manual to IBA members.

11-09-2006 Integrating Anti-Money Laundering Compliance into Your Business Operations Thirty IBA Members attended this luncheon featuring a leading anti-money laundering expert.

		09-06-2006 FSA Briefing - Overview of the new FIEL Mr. Matsuo from the FSA provided an overview of the new Financial Instruments and Exchange Law (FIEL) to almost 80 IBA members. This presentation was of great interest to both IBA member banks and securities firms.

		06-12-2006 FSA Briefing - Update on FSA Financial Inspections Over 80 IBA members attended this luncheon featuring a senior representative from the FSA.

		05-31-2006 Corporate Law Revisions The IBA was pleased to invite two leading lawyers who addressed IBA members on recent changes to Japan's Corporate Law.

		03-23-2006 Global Anti-Money Laundering Best Practices Update The IBA was pleased to have a leading anti-money laundering expert speak at this meeting in late March.

		03-02-2006 SESC BRIEFING LUNCHEON The IBA was pleased to hold a luncheon for members featuring Mr. Kiyotaka Sasaki, Director of the Enforcement Division of the SESC in March.