meta_id 3299089

On July 3, 2026, the Financial Services Agency (FSA) published the "Initiatives and Challenges in Anti-Money Laundering and Countering Financial Crime (July 2026)" report. The publication summarises the FSA's anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing (AML/CTF) initiatives, the status of responses by financial institutions (FIs), and global trends in AML/CTF and countering financial crime measures. The report primarily covers the initiatives since July 2025, providing a comprehensive overview of Japan's approach to combating financial crime. It consolidates information on the FSA's regulatory efforts, institutional compliance responses, and international developments in AML/CTF enforcement. The publication serves as a reference document for stakeholders including financial institutions, regulators, and other entities engaged in financial crime prevention and detection.  Key measures going forward include: Measures to prevent victimisation: The FSA is taking measures against illegal operators conducting financial instruments business without registration, and against fraudulent Social Networking Service (SNS) advertisements and displays targeting investors. The FSA is addressing the growth of online casinos and strengthening countermeasures against phishing and unauthorised access leading to fraudulent transactions. 2. Measures to deprive criminals of their tools: The FSA issued requests for internet banking countermeasures and is conducting follow-up on their implementation. Tougher penalties for account trading have been introduced, along with new penalties for remittance-related crimes. FIs are being required to enhance their ability to detect fraudulent transactions, with financial and regulatory support for system development for information sharing on fraudulently used accounts commencing from April 2027. The FSA is promoting information sharing both among FIs and between FIs and the police, noting that financial crime prevention is a collaborative domain requiring strengthened public-private and private-private cooperation. Stricter identity verification requirements are being implemented. 3. Governance and implementation The FSA emphasised that building a company-wide AML/CFT implementation framework with board-level commitment is critical, noting varying degrees of progress among FIs in areas including personnel and budget allocation, cross-divisional coordination, and internal audit effectiveness. Key areas identified as requiring further work include the Risk-Based Approach (RBA), effectiveness verification frameworks, and the joint implementation of AML/CFT measures using Funds Transfer Transaction Analysis Service Providers.