The Tokyo Metropolitan Government (TMG) regards finance as a key to resolving the economic impact of Covid-19 and issues of common concern to humankind, such as the worsening climate crisis. Financial services thus figure hugely in plans for ensuring a sustainable recovery for Tokyo, and the TMG is undertaking diverse measures to fortify Tokyo’s identity as an international financial hub.
Reinforcing Tokyo’s identity as a financial hub will be a matter of tapping the city’s comprehensive appeal. That appeal, which attracts individuals and companies from around the world, benefits from the immense vitality of the Japanese economy and Japanese industry. Japan is the world’s third-largest economy, and its pool of personal financial assets has reached about ¥2,000 trillion (about US$18 trillion). Japan is also home, of course, to globally competitive companies across the industrial spectrum, including finance.
“Our efforts to fortify Tokyo’s standing as a global financial city,” declares Tokyo governor KOIKE Yuriko, “address the goals of achieving sustainable development for the city, enriching the lives of its residents, and increasing Tokyo’s appeal and competitiveness. . . . To ensure continuing growth for Tokyo, we needed a new strategic approach. Invigorating the financial sector, which accounts for nearly 10% of Tokyo’s GDP, is especially important. Finance is the lifeblood of our economy and a driver of growth throughout industry. I brought a strong determination to assert renewed leadership for Tokyo in global finance when I assumed the governorship, and we promptly drafted the ‘Global Financial City: Tokyo’ Vision in 2017 for that purpose.”
The global environment for financial services underwent profound change after the launch of the initial “Global Financial City: Tokyo” Vision. That change included a worldwide upturn in interest in green finance and rapid progress in digitalization. The TMG prepared an updated vision to support a swift and effective response to the environmental change. It released the new version in November 2021 as “Global Financial City: Tokyo” Vision 2.0.
“Global Financial City: Tokyo” Vision 2.0 ensued from recognition of environmental change in the global financial industry and issues that confront Tokyo. It stands on the following three pillars:
- Promoting the Tokyo Green Finance Initiative (TGFI)
- Advancing financial digitalization
- Accumulating diverse financial players
"Global Financial City: Tokyo" Vision 2.0 Promotion Video (Short ver.)
"Global Financial City: Tokyo" Vision 2.0 Promotion Video (Full ver.)