Japan – Green finance state of the market 2018

Japan's green bond market, the 12th largest globally, is primarily driven by financial and non-financial corporate issuers, with a strong focus on buildings and energy projects. While the market has seen significant growth, particularly between 2016 and 2017, the report identifies substantial untapped potential in the public sector, residential property, and the manufacturing industry to help Japan meet its 2030 and 2050 greenhouse gas reduction targets.

• Corporate issuers are the primary drivers of the market; the top five issuers are all corporates and accounted for 72% of the USD 9.7 billion issued by the end of 2018.
• Financial corporates, particularly commercial banks, have contributed half of all green bond volume to date, with Mitsubishi UFG emerging as a major issuer and underwriter.
• Proceeds from green bonds are primarily allocated to buildings (over one third), energy (31%), and transport (22%).
• External reviews are highly prevalent in the Japanese market, with 91% of issuance by volume and deal count utilizing them, mostly in the form of second-party opinions (SPOs).
• Japanese issuers show a strong preference for shorter-term bonds, with 70% of issued volume having a tenor of up to five years, significantly higher than the global average of 37%.
• The public sector remains underrepresented in the green bond market, though there is significant potential for local governments and state-owned entities like the Japan Finance Organization for Municipalities and Japan Bank for International Cooperation to fund resilient infrastructure.

APA

Filkova, M., Tukiainen, K., & Giorgi, A. (2019). Japan – Green finance state of the market 2018. Climate Bonds Initiative. https://www.climatebonds.net/files/documents/publications/cbi_japan_gfsotm_28022019.pdf

Chicago

Filkova, Monica, Krista Tukiainen, and Amanda Giorgi. Japan – Green finance state of the market 2018. Climate Bonds Initiative, 2019. https://www.climatebonds.net/files/documents/publications/cbi_japan_gfsotm_28022019.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Filkova |first1=Monica |last2=Tukiainen |first2=Krista |last3=Giorgi |first3=Amanda |title=Japan – Green finance state of the market 2018 |publisher=Climate Bonds Initiative |date=February 2019 |url=https://www.climatebonds.net/files/documents/publications/cbi_japan_gfsotm_28022019.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{filkova2019japan, author = {Filkova, Monica and Tukiainen, Krista and Giorgi, Amanda}, title = {{Japan – Green finance state of the market 2018}}, institution = {Climate Bonds Initiative}, year = {2019}, month = feb, url = {https://www.climatebonds.net/files/documents/publications/cbi_japan_gfsotm_28022019.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }