FIA Japan New Year Party 2026 – Panel Discussions and Reception

On January 21, FIA Japan held its New Year Party at the International House of Japan. The two-part event was hugely successful with a record-level of registrations, reaching 170 financial industry professionals, including participation from the regulators.

As part of our mission to deliver valuable educational content to our members and the public, we hosted two panel discussions with industry expert speakers (one held in English; the other one in Japanese), offering an online simultaneous translation service for the first time.

Japan's PTS Market: Current Position and Future

The first panel discussion organized by the FIAJ Technology Committee was titled "Japan's PTS Market: Recent Growth, Outlook and Approach to Technology." It was moderated by FIAJ Chairman / ABN AMRO Clearing Tokyo CEO Clairmont with the following panelists: Japannext CEO Yamada, Osaka Digital Exchange Director Teramoto, Nomura Securities Managing Director Hassan, Nasdaq Tokyo Office General Manager Sugihara, and FIAJ Technology Committee Chair / Citadel Securities Head of Business Development APAC Tiwana.

FIAJ Technology Committee Chair Joshpreet Tiwana (Citadel Securities)

Japan's equity market has entered a pivotal phase as Proprietary Trading Systems (PTS) gain momentum, fueled by advances in trading technology, smarter execution capabilities, and growing demand for venue diversity. This panel discussion explored the history of PTS in Japan, their recent accelerated growth, and the outlook for technology and equity market structure. The panel discussed some of the key changes that triggered the overall growth in volume, such as regulatory approval for margin trading in 2019. Other topics discussed included the so-called "Best Execution Rules" (which in Japan are actually based on "best effort" without being mandatory), and the interest from US investors to trade Japanese equities during daytime in the US (i.e., during the night session in Japan).

Challenges and Outlook for Yen Rates Markets

The second panel was titled "Spotlight on Yen Rates Markets" and was moderated by FIAJ Operations Committee Chair / Citigroup Global Markets Japan Director Yanagisawa. The panelists were SMBC General Manager Takeda, Barclays' Yonekura, OSE/TOCOM General Manager Yazu, and UBS Securities Japan Chief Economist Adachi.

This interactive session discussed the recent rapid expansion of the yen rates market from macro, trading, prime broker, and exchange/CCP perspectives, engaging participants through real-time polling during the panel discussion. The first question on their areas of interest in the yen rates market showed that 38% were focused on investor behavior (both domestic and international), with another 34% mentioning market structure/infrastructure as a key metric. The second polling on the primary cause of ultra-long term yen rates market instability revealed that over half believed that the supply/demand structure was the main cause, with another 41% mentioning communication on upcoming policies. In the final question to the audience on what would be the most effective measure to help improve market efficiency, views were split but over half of the audience responded that aligning Japan's market infrastructure and operations with international standards would improve the market.

New Year Reception – Special Addresses

After the panel discussions, FIAJ held its New Year Party reception and was honored to host two prominent speakers. Following his opening remarks, FIA Japan Chairman Clairmont (ABN AMRO Clearing) invited FSA Commissioner Ito to the stage. Commissioner Ito shared with participants the FSA's policy direction and initiatives for market development. Regarding the use of AI at the FSA, he mentioned that the draft of this speech was also created using AI, and he was satisfied with the output, though some key parts were of his own making.

The event Master of Ceremony, Ms. Nakajo – FIAJ Board of Representative Member and Goldman Sachs Japan Vice President – then called Special Guest Speaker Nakanishi, a Member of the House of Representatives, to the podium to deliver his speech. In the midst of a snap election recently triggered by Prime Minister Takaichi, Mr. Nakanishi took the time to attend and deliver his message to FIAJ members, sharing important messages about ideas for revitalizing the retail market for Japanese government bonds, and asking the audience for further ideas to help improve the Japanese financial markets.

Acknowledgments and Upcoming Events

We would like to take this opportunity to thank all of our sponsors for supporting this event: Gold Sponsor Dharma Capital, Silver Sponsors JPX Group, OSTTRA and CME Group, as well as Bronze Sponsor Trading Technologies.

Our next scheduled event will be the reception following the FIA Japan AGM tentatively scheduled on May 20 in Tokyo. More details will be made available as we get closer to the date.

Please also mark your calendar for the upcoming "FIA Forum Tokyo 2026 – Co-organized with FIA Japan" to be held on September 10, 2026 at the TSE Hall.