According to the latest annual report by GSG-NAB Japan, Japan’s impact investing market is growing. The total amount of investment in impact investing has grown by 1,700 per cent – from $475 million (71.8 billion JPY) in 2018 to $8.7 billion (1.3 trillion JPY) in 2021.

According to its FY2021 report, one of the factors behind this growth is entry into the impact investing market by asset management firms, insurance companies, and financial institutions. The Covid-19 pandemic apparently advanced understanding of the benefits of impact investing since  “It has shined more light on the ‘social’ factor, and conditions are becoming more conducive to impact opportunities.”

The GSG (the Global Steering Group for Impact Investment) is a global network with 33 nations plus the EU as members. GSG-NAB Japan was established in 2014 as GSG’s national advisory board in Japan.

The original report was released in April this year. An English translation is now available.