Advisory Body Calls for Stricter Screening of Foreign Investment in Japanese Companies; Asks Finance Ministry to Cooperate with Intelligence Agencies on Checks

The Yomiuri Shimbun

3:00 JST, January 9, 2026

A report submitted this week to Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama asks the Finance Ministry to cooperate with intelligence agencies to reinforce the screening of investments in Japanese companies made by foreign entities.

The proposal was made by the Council on Customs, Tariff, Foreign Exchange and Other Transactions, an advisory body to the finance minister. It follows the government’s move to discuss establishing a “Japanese version” of America’s CFIUS, the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States.

The council called for the government to reinforce the system in which the Finance Ministry, the National Security Secretariat and related government bodies cooperate to review investments made by foreign investors. The role of intelligence agencies in the process is not clearly defined under the current screening system. 

After receiving the report, Katayama announced her intention to establish a committee involving relevant ministries and agencies, including the National Security Secretariat. “We would like to improve the effectiveness of the screening process,” she said. 

The government plans to reinforce regulations on investments made by foreign entities by submitting a bill to revise the Foreign Exchange and Foreign Trade Law to the ordinary Diet session scheduled to convene on Jan. 23. 

The report also proposed exempting certain actions, such as the reappointment of executives, from the prior notification requirement in order to reduce the burden of screening. According to the Finance Ministry, 2,903 prior notifications were submitted in fiscal 2024, about eight times the number in the United States, which has a similar screening system. 

Additionally, the report requested the government to obligate foreign companies to file reports when acquiring another foreign company that holds stock in a Japanese company, in accordance with the degree of security risk.

There is only one case in the past in which the government has ordered or recommended a foreign entity to halt its investment in a Japanese company. The advisory body aims to improve the effectiveness of the screening process by narrowing down its scope while strengthening the monitoring of potentially problematic investments.