The Sustainability Standards Board of Japan (SSBJ) has published two significant documents aimed at enhancing transparency and comparability in sustainability-related financial disclosures. The newly released “Schedule of Differences between ISSB Standards and SSBJ Standards” and “Table of Concordance between ISSB Standards and SSBJ Standards” outline the extent to which Japanese standards align with global benchmarks set by the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB).
The publications have received confirmation from both the Financial Accounting Standards Foundation (FASF), the parent body of the SSBJ, and the IFRS® Foundation, which oversees the ISSB.
Issued on 5 March 2025, the SSBJ Standards were developed with a core policy of aligning closely with the IFRS Sustainability Disclosure Standards. The “Schedule of Differences” enables stakeholders to clearly identify areas of convergence and divergence between the two frameworks, while the “Table of Concordance” provides a detailed mapping of where specific ISSB paragraphs have been incorporated into the SSBJ Standards.
Yasunobu Kawanishi, Chair of the SSBJ, welcomed the release, stating: “It is with great pleasure that we have agreed on the contents of the ‘Schedule of Differences’, and we are grateful for the ISSB’s support in reaching this milestone. Constituents have asked for this information and can now use this document to understand the degree of alignment between SSBJ Standards and ISSB Standards. Our goal is to achieve comparability of information resulting from applying the standards, and we are committed to monitoring how disclosure practices develop within and outside of Japan in the coming years.”
Sue Lloyd, Vice-Chair of the ISSB, also praised the move: “The ISSB commends the SSBJ for pursuing its policy to design SSBJ Standards to be aligned with ISSB Standards and on the extent of alignment achieved. The release of SSBJ Standards designed to provide outcomes functionally aligned with ISSB Standards represents a significant milestone in promoting global comparability of sustainability-related disclosures for capital markets. We applaud this important development and look forward to continuing our engagement with the SSBJ, Japanese stakeholders and the Japanese regulatory authorities as they determine the application of SSBJ Standards.”
While the SSBJ Standards themselves are currently available only in Japanese, both the “Schedule of Differences” and “Table of Concordance” have been published in English to facilitate broader international understanding and engagement.
