Investors(Advice to Individual Customers Who Intend to Conduct FX Transactions)

• So-called foreign exchange margin transactions (hereinafter referred to as "FX transactions") involve an amount larger than the amount of money that you are required to deposit for the transactions, and therefore are associated with risks to cause large amount of losses.
  In commencing FX transactions, you should study and understand the mechanics of transactions and their inherent risks and you do this at your responsibility only if you believe that such trading is suitable in light of your financial resources, your trading experience, your purpose and other factors. You should exercise adequate care for the amount of money to be invested and the selection of currencies you are going to trade.
• The Financial Futures Trading Act was amended in July 2005 to define, and regulate, firms carrying out FX transactions (FX trading firms) as financial futures firms. Since then, many FX trading firms have been registered for financial futures business. Since the Financial Instruments and Exchange Act took effect in September 2007, such FX trading firms have been registered under said Act after passing the examination by the Authority.
  A juridical person registered to carry out financial futures business (including business for FX transactions) under the Financial Instruments and Exchange Act is eligible for the membership of this Association in principle and, therefore, may become a member of the Association subject to the approval of the Board of Directors. It is important for you to assess the creditworthiness, etc. for the selection of a firm and make an appropriate judgment in selecting a firm before commencing of FX transactions because each juridical person has various characteristics in light of financial conditions, performance, personnel structure, etc.

• The Financial Instruments and Exchange Act lists, among others, the following acts as prohibited acts by financial instruments firms, etc.:

  1. Giving a customer false information regarding entering into, or solicitation of entering into, a contract for financial futures transactions;
  2. Solicitation for entering into a contract for financial futures transactions by offering a customer a definite prediction such as "definitely profitable," "Yen will be appreciated (or depreciated)";
  3. Soliciting to enter into a contract for over-the-counter financial futures transactions, by means of a visit or telephoning, a customer who has not requested the solicitation for entering into a contract (so called "unrequested solicitation")
  4. Soliciting a customer to enter into a contract for financial futures transactions without making prior confirmation whether the customer has an intent to be so solicited;
  5. Soliciting further a customer who was once solicited to enter into a contract for financial futures transactions despite the fact that the customer has shown the intent that the customer does not want to enter into such contract.

Please call the following when you were solicited by a member of the Association in any of the above manners.