Japan plans to revise foreign investment law to sharpen security screening

TOKYO, Nov 6 (Reuters) – Japan plans to revise its foreign investment screening law next year to streamline the review process and enable more targeted assessments of national security risks, a central pillar of Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s policy agenda.
The revision would be the first major update to the Foreign Exchange and Foreign Trade Act (FEFTA) since 2019, when the threshold for prior review of stock purchases by foreign entities was lowered from 10% to 1% for designated businesses.
Sign up here.
The threshold change led to a surge in filings, with average annual submissions exceeding 2,000 since 2020 compared with around 500 beforehand, fuelling calls for improved efficiency.
The amended FEFTA took full effect in 2020 and contained a supplementary provision stipulating a review five years after implementation.