Japan shows its cards on sustainability reporting alignment
The Sustainability Standards Board of Japan (SSBJ) dropped two important documents on 31 March 2025: the “Schedule of Differences” and the “Table of Concordance.” Together, they provide a detailed comparison between Japan’s new sustainability standards and those issued by the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB).
The SSBJ Standards, issued earlier in March, were built with alignment to ISSB Standards as a core principle. These documents show exactly how closely the two frameworks line up and where differences remain.
In an environment where comparability and clarity matter more than ever, this is very helpful. Investors want to know that disclosures are consistent, credible and decision-useful. This release gives them exactly that, and it shows Japan is serious about keeping pace with global sustainability disclosure practices.
The full standards may be in Japanese, but include side-by-side comparisons in English. So if you’re following the global sustainability reporting story, you can find them here.
