Japan's transition bonds

22 minute read

Download full paper (0.3mb)

Japan is a pioneer in the nascent transition bond market, with JPY5.37trn (USD35.8bn) outstanding. The country’s government is leading the way with the issuance of Japan Climate Transition Bonds (JCTBs) – which align with best practices on linking industrial policy to use of proceeds for advancing decarbonisation.

In this paper, we examine how these bonds are structured, investigate how proceeds are allocated, and explore the implications of recent bond market volatility. 

We unpack Japan’s issuance activity against the backdrop of new Climate Transition Bond guidelines produced by the International Capital Market Association (ICMA). JCTBs are among the first bonds aligned with this framework. Corporate transition bonds from the power sector, as the largest issuer segment, are also increasingly aligned with ICMA.

These instruments are core to Japan’s Green Transformation (GX) strategy, which aims to mobilise JPY150trn in public-private investment over the next decade. We also review the power and utility sectors, classified as hard-to-abate sectors, to assess how they are using these instruments to finance their transition plans.