Annual Report/Integrated Report 2026

The Bank is the national financial institution for the cooperative system, whose members (investing organizations) include Japan Agricultural Cooperatives (JAs), Japan Fishery Cooperatives (JFs), and Japan Forest Owners’ Cooperatives (JForests). While the Bank provides financial services such as deposits and loans, it differs from ordinary financial institutions in that Article 1 of the Norinchukin Bank Act, its governing law, explicitly defines its mission as contributing to the development of the AFF industries by facilitating the smooth provision of financial services to these cooperative organizations and those engaged in the AFF industries.

For the Bank, cooperative system organizations such as JAs, JFs, and JForests are not only member organizations and capital contributors, but also users of our financial services, including deposits. In addition, as represented by the network of financial institutions known as JA Bank and JF Marine Bank, many of the Bank’s businesses are carried out in close collaboration with these cooperative system organizations. The Bank and the cooperative organizations are also partners that work as one in promoting the development of the AFF industries through their integrated business operations.

Our strength lies in the diverse management capital that we have cultivated together with the cooperative organizations over our 100-year history. By leveraging our relationships with the cooperative organizations and our network that provides access to the entire food and agriculture value chain—from production to processing, distribution, food service, exports, and consumption—we offer solutions unique to the Bank that go beyond conventional financial services such as investment and lending.
In addition, our stable funding base, supported by our members, enables us to manage assets from a medium- to long-term perspective, including the diversification of revenue sources. This serves as a driving force behind our steadfast support for the AFF industries.

To achieve our Purpose, The Bank has established its desired state for 2030 as its medium-term vision and is managing its business to realize this vision while responding flexibly and agilely to changes in the external environment. At present, we are focused on rebuilding our earning power, contributing to the sustainable development of the agriculture, forestry, and fisheries industries, and restoring the trust of our stakeholders through the steady execution of these initiatives. Through these efforts, we aim to realize our vision for 2030.

To fulfill its mission to contribute to the advancement of the AFF industries, The Norinchukin Bank pursues a wide range of initiatives centered on three businesses: Food & Agriculture, Retail, and Investment. Specifically, these include providing financing and consulting services to various companies across the food and agriculture value chain (Food & Agriculture Business), delivering regional financial services in collaboration with JA and JF (Retail Business), and generating stable profits through globally diversified investments while returning those profits to members (Investment Business). Through these initiatives, we support the sustainable development of the AFF industries.

Addressing environmental and social challenges that affect the AFF industries, such as climate change and biodiversity, are important priorities. However, these challenges cannot be solved by a single company. The Bank collaborates with and serves as a bridge among companies, academic institutions, government bodies, and other stakeholders across the food and agriculture value chain. We also provide sustainable finance that provides financial support for corporate initiatives and promote the creation of carbon credits derived from AFF activities. Through these efforts, we are working to create positive environmental and social impact across the entire food and agriculture value chain.

To fulfill the Bank's mission, it is essential that we respond flexibly to changes in the external environment and conduct our business with every officer and employee embracing a mindset of creativity, ingenuity and challenge. The Corporate function, which forms the foundation of the Bank, provides the platform for doing so, and we are continuously working to strengthen and enhance it. In this section, we introduce the themes that we place particular emphasis on within the Corporate function: risk management, compliance, IT & digital transformation, cybersecurity, and human capital management.

To steadily execute on our current management priorities of “Rebuilding Earning Power” and “Contributing to the Sustainable Development of the AFF Industries,” it is essential not only to strengthen integrated financial and non-financial risk management, but also to make full use of IT and digital technologies, including generative AI, in order to improve both the efficiency and sophistication of our operations. The driving force behind all of these initiatives is our people. To steadily execute on our key themes and to realize our medium-term vision, it is essential both to foster a sound risk culture by ensuring that each and every employee takes ownership and puts compliance into practice, and to pursue human capital management that secures and develops the necessary talent. We believe that the accumulation of these efforts will lead to the restoration of trust among our stakeholders.

A key feature of the Bank’s governance framework is that the functions typically performed by a board of directors in a conventional corporation are divided between two bodies: the Supervisory Committee and the Board of Directors. The Supervisory Committee is responsible for making decisions on important matters relating to the cooperative organizations of AFF producers and for overseeing the Directors. To ensure that the views of the Bank’s members are reflected in management, the Committee comprises both representatives of the Bank’s member organizations and external experts in fields such as finance, reflecting the Bank’s asset management activities in domestic and international financial markets. The Board of Directors is responsible for making business and operational decisions under a framework of mutual oversight among Directors.

Following the amendment of the Norinchukin Bank Act in April 2026, two external experts were appointed as Directors, establishing a framework that incorporates diverse perspectives into management. In addition, the Bank conducts annual evaluations of the effectiveness of both the Supervisory Committee and the Board of Directors and continuously implements improvements based on the results. Through these efforts, the Bank is working to further strengthen and enhance its governance framework.