25 May 2017
In conjunction with the meeting of the IFRS Foundation's Trustees in Tokyo, Japan, the IFRS Foundation Trustees and Japan's Financial Accounting Standards Foundation (FASF) have today issued a joint statement. It reaffirms their shared commitment to the objective of a single set of high quality, global accounting standards and describes how the two organisations will work together to support adoption of IFRS Standards in Japan.
The two organisations share the objective of encouraging and supporting Japanese companies in their adoption of IFRS Standards.
In Japan, listed companies have a choice of several sets of accounting standards. IFRS Standards have been permitted since 2010. Since then, a large number of Japanese companies have decided to use IFRS Standards for their financial statements; 164 listed companies have either already adopted or announced plans to adopt IFRS Standards, representing approximately 30 per cent of total market capitalisation of all listed companies in Japan.
The FASF, the Accounting Standards Board of Japan, the IFRS Foundation Trustees and the International Accounting Standards Board have reaffirmed their commitment towards the objective of a single set of high quality, global accounting standards and noted the importance of the IFRS Foundation's Asia-Oceania office in further promoting cooperation in the region.
The statement follows a joint event and panel discussion, entitled Constructive Dialogue between Preparers of Financial Statement and Investors, organised to bring together a range of Japanese stakeholders during the Trustees' meeting in Tokyo. The Deputy Prime Minister of Japan, Mr Taro Aso delivered the welcoming remarks at the event, which focused on the ongoing work in Japan to develop the constructive dialogue between companies and investors—and how accounting standards contribute to this dialogue.
The joint statement can be accessed here.