Providing a range of financial functions as a member of JA Bank and JF Marine Bank
JA Bank not only provides agricultural loans to support farmers but also offers various financial products and services tailored to the life events and needs of its members and users. In addition to its range of financial services, including savings, settlements and loans, it also provides investment and testamentary trust services.
JF Marine Bank aims to maintain strong trust and to continue providing essential banking services as the financial institution most accessible to fishing communities. In addition to leveraging its expertise as a financial institution specializing in the fishing industry to provide suitable funding solutions, JF Marine Bank addresses various challenges faced by fishery-related operations, thereby supporting both the fishing industry and local communities.
As the landscape surrounding financial institutions changes significantly under the positive interest-rate environment, The Norinchukin Bank will continue to work together with its members as part of JA Bank and JF Marine Bank to support the resolution of challenges facing agriculture, local communities and daily life. While valuing connections between people, the Bank will aim to sustainably demonstrate its functions and provide value to members and users.
KAWATA Junji
Director and Senior Managing Executive Officer
(in charge of Retail Banking Business)
Member of the Board of Directors
Head of JA and JF Business Support
What is the Retail Business?
Our Retail Business is responsible for the major roles stated below, as the national-level organization of JA Bank and JF Marine Bank.
Overview of the Retail Business
Medium-Term Strategies for JA Bank and JF Marine Bank
As JA Bank and JF Marine Bank pursue integrated business operations together with the JA and JF cooperative organizations, the “JA Bank Medium-Term Strategies” and the “JF Marine Bank Medium-Term Strategies” have been formulated at the national level. Based on these strategies, prefectural-level organizations, JAs and JFs formulate and implement their respective strategies.
JA Bank Medium-Term Strategies (Fiscal 2025-2027)
- In response to changes in the operating environment, including declining population in Japan, the decreasing number of agricultural businesses, and the rapid acceleration of digitalization following the COVID-19 pandemic, JA Bank is pursuing the following initiatives with the aim of increasing the number of cooperative members and users who wish to stay connected with JA.
| Offering member- and user-centric services and experiences | We are working to visualize members’ and users’ business challenges, financial status, and life plans, identify latent needs, and deliver the diverse services and products that only comprehensive business organizations can. |
|---|---|
| Building touchpoints through the optimal integration of digital and real-world services | We are developing digital infrastructure and establishing points of contact where members and users can feel a connection with food, agriculture, and the communities in both the real and digital domains. |
Overview of JA Bank’s Medium-Term Strategies
JF Marine Bank Medium-Term Strategies (Fiscal 2024-2026) Overview
- The Bank and JF Marine Bank members (JF, JF Shingyoren) together pursue the following initiatives as a financial institution specializing in the fisheries industry.
Overview of JF Marine Bank’s Medium-Term Strategies
Main Initiatives in Fiscal 2025
Provide member- and user-centric services and experiences
In its Medium-Term Strategies for the three years from Fiscal 2025 through Fiscal 2027, JA Bank set forth “Strengthening Connections” and “Enhancing Management Strategy Comprehensively Across All Businesses” as key strategies and has been advancing various related initiatives.
The Norinchukin Bank supported initiatives undertaken by JAs nationwide aimed at demonstrating diverse functions beyond financial intermediation. With the aim of providing services and experiences from the perspective of members and users that encourage high engagement preference with the JA, The Norinchukin Bank supported the development and enhancement of frameworks for agricultural lending and various loans at JAs, proposal activities relating to asset formation and asset management, and regional revitalization initiatives tailored to local conditions.
Building touchpoints through optimal integration of the digital and real-world services
To help maintain and establish business foundation for the future, JA Bank has launched the “Adding a + (Plus) to Your Life with JA Presents” campaign, under which digital gifts and other benefits are offered when customers start or expand their transactions with JA Bank. The campaign aims to encourage those who do not currently use JA Bank to become new “JA Fans,” while encouraging existing customers to become even greater “JA Fans.”
In addition, while maximizing use of physical points of contact with members and users, including branches and farmers' markets, JA Bank is also working to expand digital points of contact that allow transactions with JA Bank anytime and anywhere. This includes the addition of new functions to “JA Bank App Plus,” a new smartphone app launched in August 2024, as well as UI/ UX improvements aimed at further enhancing convenience across JA Bank's digital services, including the “JA Bank App,” which enables users to manage their accounts easily.
PR materials for “Adding a + (Plus) to Your Life with JA Presents” campaign
JA Bank App and JA Bank App Plus
JF Marine Bank Medium-Term Strategies (Fiscal 2024 – Fiscal 2026) Initiatives
In its Medium-Term Strategies for the three years from fiscal 2024 to fiscal 2026, JF Marine Bank, as the JF group’s financial institution and the main bank for fishing communities, is committed to playing an ongoing role in addressing challenges facing fishing communities. This includes providing financing by leveraging its expertise as a specialized financial institution for the fisheries industry, as well as offering consultation functions to address a wide range of issues, including the conservation of fishing grounds.
In addition to the support provided to coastal fishery operators, The Norinchukin Bank is expanding the scope of its activities through joint visits to large-scale fishery operators and others conducted in collaboration with JF Marine Bank members. The Norinchukin Bank also regularly holds the JF Marine Bank Fisheries Industry Liaison Conference, attended by fishery operators and private-sector companies, and which serves as a forum for sharing new technologies and know-how related to the fisheries industry, as well as identifying challenges and needs at fishing sites. The conference also provides an opportunity to introduce initiatives undertaken by JF Marine Bank members and to share case studies and other information relating to fisheries financing.
JF Marine Bank Fisheries Industry Liaison Conference
Current Challenges and Direction of Responses for Fiscal 2026
Current Challenges
- Need to maintain and establish business foundations for JA Bank and JF Marine Bank, while the business environment is changing due to the decline in the domestic population and the number of producers in agricultural and fishery industries.
- Need to respond to issues faced by JA and JF members and users, as their needs become more diverse.
- Need initiatives that recognize the rapid development in digital services, and initiatives to rationalize existing processes and improve their efficiency.
Direction of Responses in Fiscal 2026
General
- Continue to support the foundation and implementation of JA and JF management strategies as comprehensive business organizations, tailored to regional characteristics; building a sustainable management foundation (visualization and refinement of strategies through communication with JA and JF)
JA Bank
- Develop support services that identify and explore potential needs of members and users by visualizing their management challenges, financial situations, and life plans
- Work to build touchpoints through the optimal integration of the digital and real-world services, and develop digital infrastructure (e.g., promoting online transactions through improvements to app functionality)
JF Marine Bank
- Further strengthen the fisheries financing function through financing to large-scale fisheries operators, in addition to coastal fishery operators
- Continue to strengthen the management consultation function to address new challenges facing fishing communities, fishing ports, and fishery operators arising from changes in the marine environment
