Premier and Minister for Financial Services and Commerce André Ebanks touched down in Tokyo on 13 May. Following visits to Hong Kong and mainland China, Japan was the final stop on his first official financial services delegation to East Asia, as Cayman looks to attract more portfolio investment from the region.
In recent years Japanese investment managers have dramatically increased their use of Cayman’s financial hub. “Japan is one of the most important international markets for Cayman’s funds industry,” said Samantha Widmer, director and head of Funds and Capital Markets at Cayman Finance.
Cayman Finance sourced figures from Japan’s Ministry of Finance that show Japanese portfolio assets in the Cayman Islands rose to around US$811 billion by the end of 2024, up from US$761 billion in 2023.
The bulk of that overall portfolio asset number comes from Cayman-registered investment funds. According to Cayman Finance analysis of Japan’s Ministry of Finance figures, Japanese holdings of Cayman investment fund shares increased to US$638 billion by the end of 2024 from US$590.3 billion in 2023.
To give those numbers some global context, Cayman is second only to the United States as a destination for Japanese portfolio investment globally, while it accounted for 62.4% of Japan’s overseas investment fund holdings in 2024.
Why Japan and Cayman
The premier, who is accompanied by a private-sector finance delegation, spoke at the Alternative Investment Management Association Japan Annual Forum 2026 on 14 May. The Compass recently explored why Cayman has benefited from the global boom in alternative assets but there are also some Japan-specific factors driving the country’s growing use of Cayman structures.
Japan has used Cayman for decades and over time Cayman also tweaked its mutual funds framework to better accommodate Japanese investors. But in recent years Cayman has become increasingly popular with Japanese investors.
The late Shinzo Abe, who was Japan’s longest-serving prime minister, championed a loose monetary policy designed to push up domestic inflation. That inflation finally came in 2022 – thanks to some help from higher global energy prices – and it pushed Japanese investors to seek alternative assets abroad. When they did, Cayman’s structures were the right option.
“The increasing use of Cayman demonstrates long-standing confidence in the jurisdiction’s legal framework, tax neutrality, regulatory credibility and the depth of its professional services ecosystem,” said Widmer.
“As Japanese investors continue to broaden allocations to overseas and alternative strategies, Cayman remains well-placed to support this demand,” said Widmer. “Cayman fund vehicles provide a trusted and efficient bridge between Japanese capital and international investment opportunities.”
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