TOKYO, 3 July 2026 — Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group (SMFG) has suffered one of the biggest ever votes against a Japanese bank director when 21.47% of shareholder votes were cast against SMFG Board Chair, signalling growing investor scrutiny and dissatisfaction with...
Japan
Bangladesh at crossroads: renewables or imported fuel chaos
The energy crisis is hitting Bangladesh’s 177 million people hard, but experts have been urging to end dependence on imported coal and gas in favour of reliable renewables. The Strait of Hormuz is all anyone is talking about and safe passage of energy tankers is at...
Japan’s top investors have a duty to back a clean energy future
Sachiko Suzuki is Asia climate and energy analyst for Market Forces. Japan faces another scorching summer, but the country's biggest investment companies are stalling the shift to clean energy with the risk of making global warming-fueled disasters worse by pouring...
Exposed: Japan’s five largest investors delay clean energy transition
Wednesday 11 June: A new report by Market Forces has revealed that Japan’s five largest institutional investors — including Mizuho Financial Group/Dai-ichi Life, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, Nomura Holdings, and Nippon Life Insurance...
分析: 日本の大手機関投資家5社、化石燃料拡大企業に6兆円以上を投資
Wednesday 11 June: マーケット・フォースが本日発表した分析により、みずほフィナンシャルグループ／第一生命保険、三井住友トラスト・ホールディングス、三菱UFJフィナンシャル・グループ、野村ホールディングス、日本生命保険の日本の主要機関投資家5社が、世界で最も積極的に化石燃料の拡大を進めている企業群に対し、計406億米ドル（約6.1兆円）を投資していることが判明した。 石炭・石油・ガスといった化石燃料の拡大を主導する190社の企業群「化石燃料拡大企業指数（Fossil Fuel Expansion Index,...
Is Japan a friend in need or a friend indeed for Bangladesh?
By Munira Chowdhury, Asia Energy Analyst, Market Forces, a clean energy finance advocacy organisation working across Asia. Munira is an author on Bangladesh energy affairs and a former policy researcher in Bangladesh. Six months since Bangladesh was born anew, the...
Japan’s trading houses have a duty to turn off the gas
Corporate giants are able to spread renewable energy and shape policies across Asia By Sachiko Suzuki, Asia climate and energy analyst for Market Forces, a Melbourne-based initiative researching the financing of environmentally destructive projects. Japan's largest...
Global investors want more climate action from Japan’s megabanks
OPINION | Will van de Pol, CEO at Market Forces Japan's big banks have a big problem. Like climate change, it will get much worse unless it is addressed quickly. The megabanks are lagging behind when it comes to playing their part in the critical transition to clean...
Southeast asian banks must dump Indonesian coal
Profusion of standards has allowed companies to obscure potential financial impact
Japan should lead the way on disclosure of climate risk
Profusion of standards has allowed companies to obscure potential financial impact