As the Bank of Japan Fights a Weak Yen, New Data Shows Japanese CFOs Can't React Fast Enough to Protect Their Balance Sheets

New Kyriba research reveals a critical readiness gap as currency and interest rate volatility climb Japan's corporate risk agenda

TOKYO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Bank of Japan has raised its policy rate to 1%, a 31-year high, with further hikes signalled. New research from Kyriba, the global leader in liquidity performance, reveals that many of the corporate finance teams most exposed to that shift lack the tools to respond to it in real time.

Survey data from 101 CFOs and senior finance decision-makers in Japan — gathered ahead of KyribaLive Exchange Tokyo today — shows that currency volatility and interest rate risk have climbed to the top of the corporate risk agenda, directly tied to the live BOJ debate, yet most organisations are too slow to act when those risks materialise.

"Japanese CFOs are more focused on currency and rate risk than at any point in recent memory”, said Yoko Otsu, Managing Director, Japan, Kyriba. “What our research shows is that awareness alone isn't enough. Most organisations need days, sometimes a week, to translate that awareness into action. In a market moving as fast as this one, that gap has a cost."

With the tightening cycle still unfolding, Japanese CFOs are increasingly focused on the key risks most directly tied to it:

• Currency volatility: 66.3% concerned (very or somewhat)
• Interest rates: 63.4% concerned
• Tariffs: 63.4% concerned, a related pressure point as trade policy and currency moves compound each other for exporters

These sit alongside Japan's top overall concerns, inflation (78.2%) and political instability (69.3%), but currency and rate risk stand out because they map directly onto a live, ongoing policy decision, not a general economic trend playing out over years.

The readiness gap: concern without capability

Despite ranking currency and rate risk near the top of their concerns, Japanese CFOs report significant gaps in their ability to act on them quickly:

• Only 19.8% of organizations can quantify the financial implications of an emerging external risk, such as an FX or rate shock, in real time or near real time. The largest group (29.7%) need up to a full week.
• Once a risk is identified, only 15.8% can adjust financial strategy the same day. The majority need anywhere from two days to a full week to respond.
• 45.5% rate their organization's preparedness as high. Only 25.7% express high confidence in their ability to analyse exposure across cash, liquidity, and working capital in real time.

The cost of that gap is already visible: 78.2% of Japanese CFOs say their organization experienced a material financial impact in the past 12 months as a result of inadequate risk visibility or a delayed response to an emerging risk.

For Japanese corporates with cross-border exposure, financing costs, or import/export dependencies, every further BOJ move compounds an already elevated risk environment. The research suggests most finance teams are not yet equipped to navigate it at pace.

The research was released ahead of KyribaLive Exchange Tokyo, where these findings will be examined alongside Japan's governance reform agenda. Senior treasury and finance leaders across Japan will also hear from speakers including:

Dr. Ryohei Yanagi, visiting Professor at Waseda University Graduate School of Accountancy and one of Japan's leading voices on corporate governance and value creation, will address the growing pressure on Japanese corporates to move from passive cash accumulation to active liquidity management - a shift made urgent by the approaching 2026 Corporate Governance Code revision.

Also presenting is Mr. Yoshiyuki Iwata, Manager, Finance & Treasury Department at Nomura Research Institute (NRI) one of Japan's leading IT and consulting firms. In "NRI's Data-Driven Treasury Strategy powered by Kyriba: Moving Beyond Visualization Toward Proactive Treasury and Strengthened Governance", NRI will show what operational readiness looks like when it moves from aspiration to practice. Since implementing Kyriba, NRI has reduced a cash consolidation process that previously took more than half a month to a daily view across 95% of group balances - freeing treasury teams to shift from reporting to strategic decision-making.

Methodology

The CFO Risk Radar 2026 was conducted by Censuswide among a nationally representative sample of 1,354 CFOs and senior financial decision-makers at companies with $500M+ in revenue across the UK, USA, France, Japan, Mexico, Italy, Singapore, Germany, and Spain, between May 26 and June 9, 2026. The Japan findings cited in this release are based on 101 respondents. Censuswide is a member of the Market Research Society and the British Polling Council, and a signatory of the Global Data Quality Pledge.

About Kyriba

Kyriba is the global leader in liquidity performance, trusted to transform how CFOs, Treasurers and IT leaders connect, protect, forecast and optimize their liquidity amid economic complexity.

As a secure, transparent and scalable SaaS solution trusted by 4,000 customers across 170 countries, Kyriba delivers governed intelligence and financial automation through innovative technologies, including its trusted agentic AI (TAI), bringing precision, efficiency, and confidence to financial operations.

With an expansive ecosystem of banking, technology and consulting partners, Kyriba's platform powers 3.6 billion bank transactions and $51 trillion in payments across 10,000 banks annually, helping companies gain enterprise-wide visibility, ensure financial stability, and outperform their business strategy.

www.kyriba.com