# Fintech

The National Tax Agency has announced that all businesses with annual revenue exceeding ¥10 million must implement qualified invoice-issuing systems by October 2026. This extends the existing invoice system requirements and adds new digital compliance standards for B2B transactions.

The 2026 tax reform bill includes a reduced corporate tax rate for small and medium enterprises investing in approved digital transformation initiatives. Qualifying businesses can receive up to a 5% tax rate reduction on income related to digital investments, effective from April 2026.

freee has announced a new AI-powered expense categorization feature for its cloud accounting platform. The system uses machine learning to automatically classify transactions, reducing manual data entry by up to 70% according to beta testing results. The feature is now available to all freee accounting subscribers.

METI reports that cashless payment adoption in Japan has reached 45.2% of consumer transactions in 2025, surpassing government targets. QR code payments led growth, with credit cards and electronic money also showing strong gains. The ministry projects 50% adoption by the end of 2026.