Remarks by Kenneth E. Bentsen Jr., President and CEO at SIFMA, as prepared for delivery at SIFMA’s 2025 Japan Securities Summit.

Good afternoon. I’m Ken Bentsen, president and CEO at SIFMA. It is my pleasure to welcome you all to the 14th Japan Securities Summit, this is the sixth time SIFMA has co-hosted the Summit with the Japan Securities Dealers Association.

On behalf of SIFMA, I would like to thank the Japan Securities Dealers Association for their close partnership on this event and for promoting deeper cross-border investment between the U.S. and Japan. SIFMA has benefited from a strong working relationship with the JDSA on several issues dating back to the early 1980s. In that time, we have had very substantive collaboration on issues of mutual interest and concern, including cross-border taxation issues, global financial market reform, sustainable finance, and more. We also partner with the JSDA alongside 15 other trade associations in the International Council of Securities Associations, a federation of the world’s leading trade associations representing groups championing the capital markets.

Today’s summit comes at an important time as both countries are navigating the changing global economy and are seeking to deepen future collaboration. SIFMA members are pleased to see Japan actively promoting itself as a center for asset management and recognize the current JSDA focus on financial literacy – something SIFMA cares deeply about. Japanese firms continue to enhance their footprint in the U.S. market, highlighted by the addition of a new Japanese primary dealer earlier this year. In 2024, Japanese firms held 7.5% of asset-backed securities. They accounted for 7.2% of the corporate bond market and 3.4% of total equity issuance, increasing by 1.4% and 1.9% respectively over the past five years and outperforming the market in deal value growth.

In 2019, our respective countries established the U.S. Japan Digital Trade Agreement which, amongst other things, protected the global digital eco-system by prohibiting data localization measures that restrict where financial institutions data can be stored and processed. Moving forward, and building on that foundation, we have a shared vision of supporting the financial sector’s contributions to long-term growth and investment in our countries.

Today, the U.S. and Japan enjoy a strong ongoing diplomatic and economic relationship. Bilateral investment remains strong and contributes to the economic prosperity of both nations. Two-way portfolio transactions in securities between the U.S. and Japan totaled $1.6 trillion in 2023, more than doubling over the last decade. In 2023, U.S. portfolio holdings of Japanese securities totaled just over $1.2 trillion – having almost doubled over the past decade – and Japanese portfolio holdings of U.S. securities was over $2.5 trillion, a 41% increase over the past decade. Focusing on government bonds, U.S. holdings of Japanese government bonds has grown to almost $350 billion in 2023, a three-fold increase over 10-year period. As of 2023, Japan was the largest holder of U.S. Treasuries – having overtaken China in 2019 – holding $1.1 trillion, an increase of roughly 10% over the course of five years. The role of the U.S. and Japan as key investors in one another’s economies cannot be overstated. The longstanding economic and strategic relationship and friendship between the U.S. and Japan is essential to the long-term global stability and prosperity of our global markets. Today’s summit provides an opportunity for us to exchange lessons learned and support effective and resilient capital markets.

We are honored to have the Honorable Shigeru Ariizumi, Vice Minister for International Affairs, Financial Services Agency, Government of Japan, and Hiromi Yamaji, Group CEO, Japan Exchange Group as our keynote speakers today. We are also privileged to receive a video message from Mr. Shigeru Ishiba, Prime Minister of Japan.

I also would like to extend a warm welcome to our guest speakers today, including Laurent Depus of International Banks Association of Japan; Mitsumaru Kumagai of Daiwa Institute of Research; Matthew Mohlenkamp of Investment Company Institute; Alicia Ogawa of Nippon Active Value Fund; Masanori Yoshida of Japan Exchange Group; Nicholas Bratt of Lazard Asset Management; Yunosuke Ikeda of Nomura Securities; and Yoshiko Yamaguchi of Soya Japan Research and Consulting.

We greatly appreciate the continued support of our summit partners, the Japan Securities Dealers Association and the Japan Exchange Group.

Thank you again for being here today and for participating in today’s summit.

And now, please join me in welcoming Toshio Morita, chairman and CEO of the Japan Securities Dealers Association, for his opening remarks.

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