Welcome to the one hundred thirty-eighth edition of the Japan FinTech Observer.

We are up to the neck in earnings season, and have included ten quarterly reports in this edition. Among them, Infcurion and Sony Financial (again) present their first results as a public company. We will cover the mega banks in next week's edition. If you would like to get the report immediately once published over the next day or so, please subscribe to the "instant" version of the Japan FinTech Observer on our own website.

Here is what we are going to cover this week:

• Venture Capital & Private Markets: MUFG invests in and signs MOU for strategic collaboration with Third Intelligence; ZIRITZ raises JPY 700m in Series A funding for asset management platform; SBI Holdings & GFTN establish a USD 200m Fund investing in global FinTech companies; NTT Group establishes Its first Southeast Asia startup investment vehicle, “Synexia Ventures”; DeNA establishes JPY 5bn Delight Ventures Builder Fund III; QIA commits USD 1 billion to Japanese private equity platform with ORIX

• Insurance: Tokio Marine's Delphi Financial Group acquires majority in ACORE CAPITAL; NeoFirst Life launches cancer insurance sales at Prudential Life Insurance

• Banking: MUFG announces AI-driven business transformation and new retail services initiative; SMFG Invests in kAIgentic; Seven Bank is considering investing in a FamilyMart-affiliated credit-card company; Okasan BANK launches corporate services on GMO Aozora Net Bank BaaS

• Payments: Suica Renaissance Phase II, Suica penguin to "graduate"; Datachain launches “Tokenized Deposit” initiative

• Capital Markets: Japan Exchange Group weighs tighter oversight of listed crypto treasury firms

• Asset Management: DWS and Nippon Life India Asset Management plan to collaborate to bolster alternatives, passives and global distribution

• Digital Assets: KDDI turns Ponta points into stablecoins with HashPort deal; Startale Group announces Startale App, a SuperApp optimized for Soneium; The Matsudo Municipal Government in Chiba Prefecture has developed "Meta-Matsu"

• The Last Word: METI & JETRO publish expanded startup investment agreement guidelines

• Digital Garage

• Finatext Holdings

• GMO Payment Gateway

• Infcurion

• Integral Corporation

• Metaplanet

• Monex Group (including Coincheck Group)

• Rakuten Bank

• Seven Bank

Since we will cover the three mega banks only in the next edition, we recommend the brief summary published by S&P Global in the interim.

• MUFG invests in and signs MOU for strategic collaboration with Third Intelligence: Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (MUFG) and its consolidated subsidiary, MUFG Bank, have entered into an investment agreement and signed a memorandum of understanding regarding strategic collaboration with Third Intelligence; other investors are SMBC, SBI Group, and Hokuhodo DY Ventures; Third Intelligence is a company established in March 2025 by Yutaka Matsuo, a professor at the University of Tokyo and leading figure in AI research in Japan, and Junya Ishibashi, CEO of Third Intelligence, through a carve-out of new AI development initiatives at the Matsuo Institute

• ZIRITZ raises JPY 700m in Series A funding for asset management platform: ZIRITZ, which operates the asset management platform "StockFormer" and the AI-powered automatic apartment planning service "StockFormer-ZERO," has completed Series A funding totaling 700 million yen; in this round, Nissay Capital and Daiwa Corporate Investment served as lead investors, with participation from a total of 7 venture capital firms and corporate investors; the raised funds will be allocated to acquiring excellent talent, expanding products, and enlarging sales areas to achieve further growth

• Dealroom & NordicNinja VC have published "Japan/Europe: A Rising Tech Alliance"

• So & Sato contributed "Laws and regulations on private equity funds in Japan" to the

New Funds

• SBI Holdings & GFTN establish a USD 200m Fund investing in global FinTech companies: SBI Holdings has agreed to establish a joint venture fund with the Global Finance & Technology Network (GFTN), an organization established by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS); this fund targets to raise up to USD 200 million to invest in global growth-stage companies in fields such as digital financial infrastructure, fintech including payments, artificial intelligence, digital assets, cybersecurity, and other emerging technologies applied to financial applications

• NTT Group establishes Its first Southeast Asia startup investment vehicle, “Synexia Ventures”: NTT DOCOMO Ventures (NDV) and NTT Finance will jointly establish a new investment vehicle, Synexia Ventures, aimed at strengthening collaboration with promising startups in Southeast Asia; the investment vehicle will be established on December 15, 2025; Synexia Ventures will be jointly managed by Kuan Hsu (General Partner of KK Fund), along with NDV and NTT Finance; Kuan Hsu will lead on-the-ground operations in Southeast Asia, leveraging his deep VC experience in the region while working closely with NDV and NTT Finance’s investment teams

• DeNA establishes JPY 5bn Delight Ventures Builder Fund III: DeNA Group is currently strengthening initiatives related to AI under the policy of AI-ALL-IN, aiming for medium to long term growth centered on AI; in line with this, DeNA has resolved to make an investment in Delight Venture Builder III ILP, a fund specializing in investments in AI domain; to date, through investments in the Group’s funds, Delight Ventures I ILP and Delight Ventures Builder II ILP, DeNA has promoted the venture builder business, contributing to the creation of new businesses, the development of a robust talent foundation, the revitalization of the startup and innovation ecosystem, and the cultivation of an entrepreneurial culture

Not FinTech

• Non-tech security DX company SecureNavi completes ¥1.2 billion Series B funding: SBI Investment and Mobile Internet Capital lead, with the following new investors participating: NTT DOCOMO Ventures, Japan Venture Capital, Kyoto Capital Partners, Macnica, Seiho Investment Works, FIDEA Capital, Iyogin Capital, Kobe University Capital, SMBC Venture Capital

• Transcelestial has expanded its total funding to US$34.7M with an additional close of its latest round of US$9.7M: new backing comes from MPower Partners, with expanded support from SEEDS (investment arm of SG Growth Capital) and Kickstart Ventures, adding to the list of strategic backers from Japan including NTT Finance (investment arm of NTT Group, Japan’s oldest telecommunication company), Golden Egg Ventures and Paspalis Capital (leading Australia deeptech investor)

• Opt Fit has completed its Series B funding, raising a cumulative total of 780 million yen: new shareholders are First Light Capital, SMBC Venture Capital, Fidea Capital, who are joining existing shareholders Money Forward Venture Partners (HIRAC FUND), Accord Ventures, STATION Ai Fund, NOBUNAGA Capital Village, and are supplemented with debt financing from Aichi Bank, Nagoya Bank, Japan Finance Corporation

• Tokio Marine's Delphi Financial Group acquires majority in ACORE CAPITAL: Tokio Marine Holdings' wholly-owned subsidiary, Delphi Financial Group, has agreed to acquire a majority stake in ACORE CAPITAL, one of the leading U.S. commercial real estate investment managers; this acquisition marks a natural progression in the relationship between TM/Delphi and ACORE CAPITAL, which began in 2015 when Delphi supported ACORE CAPITAL’s launch with a $1.6 billion capital commitment

• NeoFirst Life launches cancer insurance sales at Prudential Life Insurance: NeoFirst Life Insurance announces that Prudential Life Insurance Company of Japan will begin selling NeoFirst's cancer insurance product "Neo de Ganchiryou" from Monday, December 1, 2025; this initiative is being implemented as part of the strategic business alliance between Prudential Financial and Dai-ichi Life Holdings announced on January 24, 2025; "Neo de Ganchiryou" is insurance designed to prepare for diversifying cancer treatments, offering coverage in the form of lump-sum benefits and monthly benefits for treatment received, which can be combined according to customers' preferences

• MUFG announces AI-driven business transformation and new retail services initiative: MUFG Bank, a consolidated subsidiary of Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (MUFG), has entered into a strategic collaboration agreement with OpenAI; starting January 2026, all approximately 35,000 employees of MUFG Bank will be able to use ChatGPT Enterprise in their daily work; MUFG Bank is also launching initiatives to create innovative customer experiences in retail banking

• SMFG Invests in kAIgentic: Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group (SMFG) has reached an agreement to acquire a majority stake in kAIgentic, a company incorporated by Mr. Mazhari, SMBC Group’s AI Transformation Advisor, in Singapore in August 2025; kAIgentic builds the enterprise “Intelligence Layer” to accelerate AI transformation within the SMBC Group and to develop agentic AI capabilities for broader industry adoption as a long-term goal; this announcement formalizes the closing of the investment agreement and presents kAIgentic’s name, brand identity, and mission, establishing it as the SMBC Group’s transformation engine and a platform for long‑term AI innovation spanning financial services and its customers

• Seven Bank is considering investing in a FamilyMart-affiliated credit-card company: the Tokyo-based bank is looking for areas beyond its main business of operating automated teller machines in convenience stores for its tie-up with FamilyMart Co.,Ltd., which is a unit of ITOCHU Corporation; the trading house is also the second-largest shareholder in Seven Bank, after

• Suica Renaissance Phase II, Suica penguin to "graduate": a new QR code payment service will finally be integrated into the Mobile Suica app in Fall 2026; in addition to Suica's traditional easy & convenient touch payment, customers will then be able to enjoy QR code payments for purchases exceeding Suica's upper limit (20,000 yen); furthermore, a send & receive value function will enable transfers between family and friends; by linking a VIEW Card, customers will be able to make QR code payments without pre-charging, up to their credit limit; additionally, coupon functions for advantageous shopping and region/store-specific value issuance functions will be added, allowing merchants and regional partners to use these as promotional tools

• Datachain launches “Tokenized Deposit” initiative: Datachain has entered the field of tokenized deposits, leveraging blockchain technology; Datachain aims to develop AI-native, programmable infrastructure for payments and treasury management through this new initiative; tokenized deposits and stablecoins are increasingly recognized as core components of next-generation digital money; since 2022, Datachain has been actively developing its stablecoin business and advancing real-world implementation through collaborations with Japan’s three megabanks, Swift, and Progmat

• Japan Exchange Group weighs tighter oversight of listed crypto treasury firms: the exchange is exploring measures that could include requiring companies to undergo fresh audits if they pivot into large-scale crypto accumulation

• DWS and Nippon Life India Asset Management plan to collaborate to bolster alternatives, passives and global distribution: DWS plans to invest in Nippon Life India AIF Management (NIAIF) to scale up the alternatives business of Nippon India; with close to $1 billion capital commitments raised and a track record of 10 years, NIAIF is one of India’s leading asset managers for various categories of Indian Alternative Investment Funds (AIF); with the proposed JV it plans to expand its product suite and coverage to offshore investors through DWS’ global reach; DWS plans to acquire a minority stake of 40 per cent in NIAIF

• The Government Pension Investment Fund (GPIF) has published its "Sustainability Investment Report" for 2024

• KDDI turns Ponta points into stablecoins with HashPort deal: HashPort has signed a capital and business alliance agreement with KDDI, which acquired more than 20% of HashPort's issued shares, making HashPort an equity-method affiliate of KDDI; as the first initiative of this alliance, HashPort Wallet with 1 million cumulative downloads will collaborate with Ponta, which has approximately 120 million members, and au PAY, which has approximately 39 million users, to implement the following partnerships: (I) provision of exchange services from Ponta points to stablecoins and cryptocurrency within HashPort Wallet, and (II) provision of exchange services from stablecoins and cryptocurrency to au PAY gift cards within HashPort Wallet (the acquired au PAY gift cards can be used to charge au PAY Money Light)

• Startale Group announces Startale App, a SuperApp optimized for Soneium: Startale Group has announced the Startale App, an all-in-one gateway to the Startale and Soneium ecosystem, designed to make the open digital economy simple, secure, and connected; built as part of a continued partnership with Sony Block Solutions Labs, the app marks the beginning of a new chapter in Startale’s mission to bring the world onchain; the SuperApp will serve as the all-in-one gateway to the Soneium ecosystem, uniting wallets, assets, and blockchain-native applications into one intuitive experience

• The Matsudo Municipal Government in Chiba Prefecture has developed "Meta-Matsu," a three-dimensional virtual space based on the city's map, and made it available online; users can explore the proprietary municipal "metaverse" for free and access information on disaster prevention and cultural properties; the city aims to expand Meta-Matsu's features to create a "smart city hall" where administrative tasks and consultations with staff can be done via smartphones and other devices; it also plans to provide information on medical facilities and recycling collection points on the virtual map

Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI), together with the Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO), has compiled an expanded version of the “Key Points to Consider in Contracts for Sound Venture Investments in Japan” based on discussions held at the “Study Group on Development of Startup Ecosystems.” These guidelines were originally formulated in 2018, and revised in 2022. Investors and those involved in startup investment, particularly startup companies, are encouraged to make use of these guidelines, taking into account not only the latest business practices but also the investment environment and the circumstances of individual companies.

The updated document has unveiled a sweeping and remarkably detailed blueprint aimed at fundamentally rewiring the nation's venture capital landscape, a move designed to shift the focus from simply cultivating a large number of startups to forging globally competitive unicorns. METI/JETRO are calling for a radical modernization of investment contracts and corporate governance, seeking to align domestic practices with global standards to attract foreign capital and empower a new generation of ambitious entrepreneurs.

METI/JETRO argue that while Japan's startup ecosystem has successfully expanded in "breadth", it now faces the critical challenge of achieving "height". For the past decade, the focus has been on increasing the number of startups and raising their public profile. The result is a vibrant but shallow ecosystem, often characterized by small-scale IPOs on Tokyo's Growth Market and a governance culture that lags behind international norms.

This updated guidance, developed in consultation with a panel of leading lawyers, academics, and venture capitalists, represents a direct intervention to address these shortcomings. It serves as both a diagnosis of the current system's limitations and a prescriptive manual for change, targeting the very legal architecture that underpins the relationship between founders and investors. The ultimate goal is to create a "world-class environment" that is more attractive to international investors and top-tier global talent, in line with the government's ambitious "Five-Year Plan for Nurturing Startups."

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