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Japan Post Bank (ゆうちょ銀行)

Confidence: Likely Updated 2026-05-26 Review by 2026-11-15 Sources 6 Machine-translated Original (JA)
#JapanFG#banking#post-bank
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This entry sits under regional-banks INDEX. Read it against Resona HD for peer / contrast context and banking index for the broader system / regulatory boundary.

TL;DR

A commercial bank with one of Japan’s largest deposit bases (a scale of approx. 190 兆円, deposit balance of 190.5 兆円 〔2025-03-31〕, among the largest of any domestic bank). It opened on the same day as postal privatisation (2007-10-01) and uses a nationwide network of approx. 24,000 局 post offices (operations entrusted to Japan Post) as its retail base. Its lending business is limited, and the bulk of its investment assets has long depended on securities investment centred on Japanese government bonds (JGBs), but in recent years it has positioned diversification into overseas bonds, alternatives, and private funds as a pillar of its medium-term management plan. Its parent is Japan Post Holdings (whose voting-rights holding ratio, due to staged sell-downs, is 50.04% as of 2025-03-31, falling to 50% or below by 2025 年). On 2015-11-04 it had a simultaneous IPO 3 社 with Japan Post Holdings and Japan Post Insurance.

1. Company profile

Legal name: Japan Post Bank Co., Ltd. (株式会社ゆうちょ銀行) English name: Japan Post Bank Co., Ltd. Securities code: TSE PRIME 7182 (listed 2015-11-04) Established: 2006-09-01 (as a postal-privatisation preparatory company) Opened: 2007-10-01 (the same day as postal privatisation, succeeding the business from Japan Post Public Corporation) Head office: Otemachi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo Parent: Japan Post Holdings Co., Ltd. (stock code 6178, with government-held shares)

Key figures (public basis · 2025-03-31 results)

ItemScale
Deposit balance190.5 兆円 (190 兆 4,650 億円 · 2025-03-31, among the largest of any domestic bank · high JGB-holding ratio)
Total assets233.6 兆円 (2025-03-31)
Number of ordinary-deposit accountsapprox. 1.2 億 accounts
Operating networkapprox. 24,000 局 post offices nationwide (operations entrusted to Japan Post)
Directly managed branches (offices)235 (2025-03-31 company profile)

Parent / group structure

The operating profile centred on deposit volume, number of locations, and investment portfolio is organised separately on the companion page Japan Post Bank (operating profile).

Japan Post Holdings (holding company · listed 6178)
  ├── Japan Post Bank (listed 7182, Japan Post Holdings' voting-rights holding 50.04% 〔2025-03-31〕, falling to 50% or below by 2025 年) ── banking
  ├── Japan Post Insurance (listed 7181) ── life insurance
  ├── Japan Post (100%) ── mail / logistics (entrusted with Japan Post Bank's over-the-counter operations nationwide)
  └── real estate / other businesses

Key chronology

Year/MonthEvent
1875Postal savings founded
2003-04-01Japan Post Public Corporation established (corporatisation)
2006-09-01Japan Post Bank Co., Ltd. established (privatisation preparation)
2007-10-01Postal privatisation → Japan Post Bank opened (business succeeded from Japan Post Public Corporation)
from 2009The complete-privatisation schedule fluctuated amid the “privatisation review” debate (postal reform under the DPJ government)
2015-11-04TSE First Section IPO (Japan Post Holdings + Japan Post Bank + Japan Post Insurance listed simultaneously 3 社)
2017-2024Repayment of public funds + staged decline in Japan Post Holdings’ government-shareholding ratio
2022-04Review of TSE market segments → to TSE PRIME
2024〜Medium-term management plan (investment diversification · acceleration of digitalisation)

2. Business-segment map

SegmentMain businessCharacteristics
Retail deposits (savings)Ordinary savings · fixed-amount savings · time savingsOne of Japan’s largest deposit balances, with the nationwide post-office network as the channel
Exchange / remittanceTransfers · remittances · public-utility collectionHistorical base in postal transfers
LoansLimited (mortgages, etc., mainly referred to other banks)Holds a commercial-banking licence, but lending is almost entirely concentrated in JGB and other investment
Securities investmentJGBs · foreign bonds · alternatives · private fundsThe core segment as a destination for deposit investment
CardsJP BANK Card (partner card)JP BANK Card Visa/Mastercard is guaranteed by Sumitomo Mitsui Card; the JCB version is a partner issuance of Japan Post Bank × JCB. The corporate “Japan Post Bank Business Card” is also a Sumitomo Mitsui Card partnership (2024)
DigitalYucho Passbook App / mijika (an app for younger users)Aims to break away from reliance on post-office counters
CorporateLimited (centred on settlement / collection)Lending to large corporations / IB is not a mainstay

Digital strategy

  • Yucho Passbook App: passbook digitalisation · balance inquiry · transaction history · remittance
  • Breaking away from reliance on post-office counters · strengthening non-counter channels is a medium-term-plan theme

Partnership / acquisition strategy

  • Operational entrustment with Japan Post: entrusts the over-the-counter operations / cash handling of approx. 24,000 局 nationwide to Japan Post (the core of the privatisation scheme)
  • Sales-channel collaboration with Japan Post Insurance: life-insurance sales within the same post-office network (management was strengthened after the 2019 年 Japan Post Insurance improper-sales problem)
  • Individual partnerships with partner cards · investment-trust management companies · fintech

B2C branding

  • The “Yucho” brand: recognition on the scale of 150 years since postal savings (from 1875)
  • A nationwide network of 24,000 局: an overwhelming number of retail locations, exceeding the urban bank-branch network
  • Deep penetration among regional / elderly customers (including areas not covered by megabanks)

4. Regulation / policy

  • Competent authorities: Financial Services Agency (FSA) / Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications (postal administration · the Japan Post portion)
  • Banking Act: holds a commercial-banking licence (ordinary bank)
  • Postal Privatisation Act: the government’s obligation to hold Japan Post Holdings shares · staged sell-down schedule
  • Principle of complementing the private sector: as a tenet of the Postal Privatisation Act, a constraint on the business scope so as not to squeeze private financial institutions (new businesses are subject to review by the Postal Privatisation Committee)
  • Deposit Insurance Corporation: a member (with the 2007-10 privatisation, Japan Post Bank became a financial institution covered by the deposit-insurance system, and deposited savings are protected by deposit insurance)

Recent policy issues

  • Staged sell-down of the government-holding obligation → the path to completing privatisation
  • The boundary of the principle of complementing the private sector (the limits of lending / service expansion)
  • From 2024, normalisation of the BOJ’s policy interest rate → both valuation gains/losses on JGB holdings and improvement in investment yields
  • Strengthening of governance after the Japan Post Insurance sales problem (across the group)

Sources

[!info] Verification status confidence: likely (v1.0 compiled on a public-materials basis 2026-05-19; main figures confirmed via official IR on 2026-05-29). The deposit balance 190.5 兆円 · total assets 233.6 兆円 · directly managed branches 235 are official disclosures as of 2025-03-31. Japan Post Holdings’ voting-rights holding was 50.04% at 2025-03-31 (falling to 50% or below by 2025 年, 49.87% as of 2026-03-31). Since these vary by point in time and revision, the latest values should be checked against Japan Post Group IR and FSA disclosures.