Japan is considering to incorporate a Japan-style “CFIUS-like” framework into the foreign direct investment (FDI) regulations. On 17 March 2026, the new bill for FDI regulations under the Foreign Exchange and Foreign Trade Act (FEFTA) was submitted to the House of Representatives. This new bill is based on the report “On the Appropriate Framework for the Inward Direct Investment Screening System, etc.” announced by the Council on Customs, Tariffs, Foreign Exchange and Other Transactions on…

Introduction — Significance of the Guidelines The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) published the Economic Security Management Guidelines (the “Guidelines”) on 23 January 2026. The Guidelines describe how companies should position economic security as a management issue, reflect it in their strategies and address it under an effective governance framework. This article focuses on the three economic security management pillars the Guidelines identify — ensuring autonomy, indispensability and effective governance in responding to…

On 22 November 2025, the Japan Fair Trade Commission (JFTC), the Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry (METI), and the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport, and Tourism (MLIT) announced the publication of a “Casebook on Economic Security and the Antimonopoly Act” (Casebook). The Casebook compiles 15 hypothetical cases that may arise as a result of increasing economic security awareness in Japan. These cases include information exchanges with foreign firms on acquisition proposals, technology offers from…