Financial services in Japan

The industry which has a range of businesses that deal with money like banks, insurance companies, accounting companies, finance companies, taxation, investment funds, credit companies, and few government enterprises is called the finance industry. The activities or services within this industry that cater to the economy of the country are called financial services. Therefore, the economic services provided by the finance industry in Japan are called financial services in Japan. These services are present across the world, at regional, international and national level developed economic and demographic regions such as Sydney, New York, London, Tokyo, etc.

Japan being one of the worlds' major industrialised countries, its major financial bodies are commercial banks, Japan also has foreign exchange companies, securities, and capital markets. The government-owned institutions inject funds into the economy and money markets for liquidity and also help the Bank of Japan to apply the monetary policy.

The currency of Japan is Japanese Yen, and the Japanese Yen to European pound exchange rate is the most popular. JPY is the code of the currency and ¥ is the symbol of the Japanese Yen. The minor unit of Japanese Yen is 1/100 which is called a Sen. The central bank rate is -0.10. JPY's inflation rate is 0.50% presently (subject to change as the market is constantly changing). The currency denominations in coins are ¥1, ¥5, ¥10, ¥50, ¥100, ¥500 and the notes are ¥1000, ¥5000, ¥10000 and ¥2000 which is rarely used. Japan's central bank is the Bank of Japan. Japanese Yen is the most traded currency in Asia, and third in the world the reason being its relative lower interest rates. When a currency with a low-interest rate is sold to buy a currency with a higher rate of interest it is called a carry trade. Therefore, the Japanese Yen is mostly used to carry trade with the U.S. Dollar and the Australian Dollar.

Currency exchange counters can be found in almost every major airport. Japan is a cash-based society and value a weighted wallet. However, you can use an international credit card for transactions like taxis, train tickets, and few other services

Banks form the major and most important part of the financial services of Japan. The Banking system in Japan can be divided into commercial banking system and Investment banking system.

The commercial banking industry is deal more directly in terms of saving and lending of money whereas the financial services also have insurance, risk distribution, investments, etc. the commercial banking sector issues debit and credit cards, keeps deposits and lends money to the general public. It largely deals with the general public. The main revenue system of the banks would be through the interest rates on the credits, fees, commission, and rates paid to the depositors.

The investment banks facilitate buying and selling stocks, wealth management, and tax advice, merger and acquisition advice, etc. These banks are usually not for the general public but the high net worth customers and high deal-making institutions.

The Japanese banking system is quite stable as the banks' liquidity, asset risk and environment outweigh any other negative factors. There are about 200 banks in Japan. The Bank of Japan controls the domestic money supply and inject money as a last resort to the banks. City banks, regional banks, and trust banks are domestically licensed banks in Japan and there are many foreign banks as well.