Chairman's message

(Tentative translation)

11 April 2016

Mikio Ikegaya,

Chairman of the Trust Companies Association of Japan
President, Mitsubishi UFJ Trust and Banking Corporation

The Trust Companies Association of Japan was established in 1926 to "promote the development of trust systems and public good," and celebrated the 90th anniversary in January this year.

Until today, the Association has constantly undertaken activities that have popularized and improved the soundness of the trust system.
In the meantime, the trust system has provided and demonstrated various functions that have satisfied society's needs and expectations. The trust system, with total trust properties almost reaching US$10 trillion, continues to develop as an important element of the social and economic infrastructure.

１．Contributing to the Society and Economy through the further use of trusts

With the growing use of trusts, the Association is seeking to further contribute to the development of society and economy through activities that have popularized and improved the soundness of the trust system.

This December will make it 10 years since the overall amendment to the Trust Act in 2006, which was introduced in 1922, to respond appropriately to the development society and economy.

In the last ten years, through use of trust function, we had been creating and providing new services and products, such as trust products, i.e. “family trusts called testamentary substitute trusts", “Statutory guardianship support trusts”, “Qualified Educational Fund Giving Trusts”, which are contributed to property preservation and/or to the transfer of assets from the older generation (i.e. parents) to the younger generation (i.e. children), and financial instruments, i.e. Trusts With Certificates of Beneficial Interests, Trust Corporate Bond.

Professor Kazuo Shinomiya, an authority on the law of trusts, wrote in his book, “A trust may be created in accordance with any purpose unless it is an unlawful or impossible. Therefore, there may be myriad types of trust. If there is anything to restrict the types of trust, it must be nothing but lack of imagination of lawyers and business people.”

As a bearer of trusts with history, we shall strive to be imaginative in developing and/or providing new products and services to meet society’s needs and deal with the various issues in Japan’s society and economy, through further use of various functions and flexibility of trusts.

２．Improving Confidence in Trusts

Trust is a system based on “confidence” and “faithfulness” whereas a trustee prove worthy of the trust that settlors and beneficiaries have placed.

As a fiduciary, who is responsible for customer expectations of the trust, we, bearer of trusts, will not only fulfill various responsibilities including duty of loyalty and duty of care, but always acting for customers in a cordial way with higher ethics and expertise.

Looking ahead, we will strive to strengthen customers’ “confidence” in trusts that have built in a long history of 90 years, by continuing our efforts to enhance our skills and capabilities, and implementing our fiduciary duties.

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