Who regulates what in Japan's financial sector
Different kinds of financial business answer to different laws. This guide is a general map, so you know which register to look at.
The short version
In Japan, running a bank, a securities firm, a consumer lender or a crypto-asset exchange is not something anyone can do by opening a website. Each of those businesses is defined by a law, and each generally requires a licence or a registration from the government before it may begin. The supervising agency is the Financial Services Agency (金融庁, FSA), working in the regions through the Local Finance Bureaus (財務局). The Bank of Japan is the central bank and is a separate institution from the FSA.
The table is a simplification for orientation, not a legal analysis. Read the official text before relying on any detail.
| Activity | Main law | What it generally requires |
|---|---|---|
| Taking deposits and operating as a bank | Banking Act (銀行法) | A licence from the Prime Minister, handled through the FSA. |
| Brokering or dealing in securities, managing funds, giving investment advice for a fee | Financial Instruments and Exchange Act (金融商品取引法) | Registration as a financial instruments business operator; some activities need their own registration. |
| Lending money as a business to consumers or companies | Money Lending Business Act (貸金業法) | Registration with the FSA or a prefectural governor. The registration number is shown in the lender's notices. |
| Exchanging or custodying crypto assets, funds transfer, prepaid payment instruments | Payment Services Act (資金決済法) | Registration for crypto-asset exchange services and for funds transfer services. |
| Selling insurance | Insurance Business Act (保険業法) | Insurers are licensed; agents and brokers are registered. |
What a registration tells you, and what it does not
A registration means a business has met the legal conditions to carry out a named activity. It is a good first check, and it is easy to do: the FSA publishes lists of registered operators, and the Local Finance Bureaus publish regional registers. It is not an endorsement. It does not say that a product is suitable for you, that it will make money, or that the business will never fail. And it covers only the activity that was registered: a firm registered for one thing is not automatically allowed to do another.
Deposits and the deposit insurance system
Deposits at Japanese banks sit under a deposit insurance system run by the Deposit Insurance Corporation of Japan. The scheme has an upper limit and some products are outside it, for example investment products sold by a bank are not deposits. The rules and limits are set out by the corporation, so check its official page instead of relying on a summary.
Lending: interest caps and the income rule
Two further laws shape consumer lending. The Interest Rate Restriction Act (利息制限法) sets the highest interest rate a lender may enforce, which falls as the loan amount rises. The Money Lending Business Act also contains a total-amount rule that generally limits a person's borrowing from registered lenders to a fraction of annual income. The exact limits are in the statutes and are revised from time to time, so look at the current text on the FSA site or in the e-Gov law database.
Where this site fits
This site is not on any of those registers because it does none of those activities. That is the reason it does not recommend a product, rank providers, take questions about accounts or accept money. It only explains the landscape so that you can do the check yourself. For the checking steps, read spotting risky offers.
Not legal advice. Laws are amended and this page is a general description. If a decision depends on exactly what the law says, consult a qualified professional.