Representatives of the ISSB and the Sustainability Standards Board of Japan hold inaugural bilateral meeting in Japan

Representatives of the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) and the Sustainability Standards Board of Japan (SSBJ) held a bilateral meeting on 1 March 2023 in Tokyo, Japan.

At this meeting, representatives of the ISSB and the SSBJ provided updates on their respective activities and discussed agenda items such as issues related to the implementation of IFRS Sustainability Disclosure Standards (ISSB Standards).

In addition, representatives of the SSBJ outlined the Board's project plan for the development of Japanese sustainability disclosure standards:

• Exposure Drafts to be issued no later than 31 March 2024.
• Final Standards to be issued no later than 31 March 2025.
  • The SSBJ will discuss the mandatory effective date later—the standards will be available for early application.
  • When the final standards are issued as planned, early application would be permitted for fiscal years beginning after the issuance of the final standards. The SSBJ will discuss whether earlier application would be permitted for fiscal years ending after the issuance of the final standards.

The ISSB and the SSBJ plan to continue to exchange views.

Emmanuel Faber, Chair of the ISSB, said:

Japan has provided strong and vocal support for the ISSB and our mission to develop a global baseline of sustainability disclosures for the capital markets. I commend the SSBJ for its plan to incorporate ISSB Standards into Japanese requirements and look forward to building on our productive discussions.

Yasunobu Kawanishi, Chair of the SSBJ, said:

On behalf of the SSBJ, it is our pleasure to welcome the representatives of the ISSB to Tokyo. The SSBJ is committed to developing Japanese sustainability disclosure standards that build on the global baseline of sustainability-related disclosures established by ISSB Standards. In developing our standards, we look forward to working closely with the ISSB.