Growth in ESG investing is driven more by pursuit of positive feelings than by conviction in ESG strategies’ performance. The asset management industry needs to offer product strategies, marketing and reporting that meet ESG investors’ differentiated needs.

Since January, discussions on lifting the ban on direct-depositing of wages/salaries into mobile payment accounts have been rapidly pro-gressing. If this deregulation comes to fruition, it should bring a lot of benefits for users. From a financial system standpoint, however, money transmitters’ business model may need a rethink.

There is growing public speculation that the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games will be canceled due to pandemic risk. Even if the Games are held, a decision on how many domestic spectators to allow will not be made until June. With less than two months to go until the event is scheduled to begin, this is highly unusual. In another headwind for the event, the US government on May 24 issued a Level 4 travel advisory?the highest cautionary level?advising its citizens to avoid all travel to Japan because of rising COVID-19 case numbers.