Will Japan’s financial sector reforms help Tokyo rival Hong Kong and Singapore?

In New York, PM Fumio Kishida is set to outline plans to entice finance firms, looking at tax, tech, AI and helping foreign and female workers to thrive

Analysts are divided on whether this will work, with some saying Hong Kong, Singapore ‘are more entrepreneurial, motivated, foreigner-friendly’

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The skyline of the Shinjuku area of Tokyo. File photo: AFP

Published: 6:15pm, 21 Sep 2023

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida is to lay out the reasons why foreign wealth management firms should raise their profiles in Tokyo, emphasising the robustness of the Japanese economy and the capital city’s appeal over other regional rivals.

Kishida, still in the United States after speaking at the United Nations General Assembly summit on Tuesday, is due to address the Economic Club of New York on Thursday, the Nikkei reported.

He will share his government’s vision of a thriving asset management sector with members of the 116-year-old non-profit, which describes itself as non-political and non-partisan.

Finance experts in Tokyo are divided on whether Kishida’s ambitious project will succeed, however, given the failure of a series of previous campaigns to encourage firms to defect from Hong Kong and Singapore and transform Tokyo into Asia’s pre-eminent financial hub.

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida speaks at a press conference in New York on Wednesday. Photo: Kyodo

A draft of Kishida’s speech, obtained by the Nikkei, shows that he will highlight his government’s business-friendly achievements and emphasise that “Japan’s economic indicators during the past year are at levels not seen in 30 years”.