In regard to corporate financing in Japan, it has been a well established practice to rely on borrowing from financial institutions because of the difficulty of direct funding from the capital market due to restrictions that had been imposed by the laws and regulations on the issuance of company bonds or CPs.  The realization of diversified and easier corporate financing methods was one of the challenging tasks from the viewpoint of industrial growth.  Thus, an alternative financing method to indirect financing was eagerly sought.

Under these circumstances, upon the coming into force of the Act on Regulation of Business in Specified Claims, etc. of June 1993 (the “Specified Claims Act”), a new era of financing by securitization of lease receivables began.  Further, the 1996 revision of the Specified Claims Act lifted the ban on the issuance of asset-backed securities.  From that time onwards, Japan’s securitization market came into being.

The Structured Finance Institute of Japan was established in May 1993 as a specified inspection organization under the Specified Claims Act.  While the Institute performed its duty of specified investigation, the Institute was actively engaged in investigation and research activities, focusing on issues relating to asset securitization and investor protection, and publicized many research products.  Thus, the Institute fulfilled an important role in the development of securitization in Japan.

The Institute was dissolved in March 2003 upon the abolition of the Specified Claims Act.  For some time since its dissolution, there was no organization engaged in discussions as well as investigation, research, and other activities with respect to securitization.

Under that situation, there were growing needs for an organization to discuss and consider, on an interdisciplinary basis, various issues on securitization (which was a relatively newly designed financing mechanism in Japan) as well as to present policy proposals.  As a result, in January 2005, the Securitization Forum of Japan (SFJ) was founded (at the time, as a voluntary association) for the purpose of contributing to the sound development of asset securitization schemes and a securitization market, and commenced its activities.

In July 2007, for the stabilization and further development of the activities of the Forum, the Forum was re-established as a limited liability intermediate incorporated association, to which the entire operations of the former voluntary association were transferred.  In December 2008, when the Intermediate Incorporated Association Act was abolished in conjunction with the coming into force of the Act on General Incorporated Associations and General Incorporated Foundations, the Forum was reformed into a general incorporated association.