Japan's Equity-Crowdfunding Issuance Cap Jumps to ¥500m -- What Changed in 2026

Bottom line: Japan raised the annual amount a single company can raise through equity crowdfunding (ECF) from under ¥100 million to under ¥500 million. FUNDINNO, Japan's pioneering ECF platform, publicly confirmed it was operating under the new cap on January 6, 2026 -- so this is already in practice, not just on paper. This article is a neutral explainer of what changed and when; for the risk side of equity crowdfunding itself (which this change does not alter), see our separate equity crowdfunding risks guide.

What changed: the issuer-side cap

The Japan Securities Dealers Association's (JSDA) own current page states the present cap plainly:

"The amount a single company can raise is under ¥500 million (5億円未満) per year."

That's a large jump from the previous under-¥100-million cap. Nikkei reported on 2024-11-28 that Japan's Financial Services Agency (FSA) was planning to raise the cap from under ¥100 million to under ¥500 million (¥1億円未満→¥5億円未満), with implementation expected "as early as the following spring." FUNDINNO's own official IR note independently states the revised Financial Instruments and Exchange Act took effect in February 2025 -- consistent timing between the two sources.

Who adopted it first: FUNDINNO

A higher legal ceiling doesn't automatically mean every platform is using it from day one -- operators need their own internal readiness. FUNDINNO's own IR note states plainly that "in response to the legal amendment, the per-company fundraising cap has expanded to ¥500 million," dated January 6, 2026. So while the legal cap changed in 2025, real-world platform rollout only became visible in early 2026 -- and JSDA's own rules document was itself most recently revised on 2026-06-16, meaning the regulatory framework is still actively being refined.

What about the investor side? Clearing up the "¥2 million" confusion

The issuer-side cap is only half the picture. JSDA's page also states the individual investor cap:

"The amount one investor can invest through equity crowdfunding is, for shares issued by the same company, either an amount based on the investor's financial situation or ¥500,000, whichever is higher, not to exceed ¥2,000,000 per year."

In plain terms: the baseline is ¥500,000, and it can be raised up to a maximum of ¥2 million if a platform assesses the investor's financial situation and approves it -- it is not the case that every investor can now simply invest up to ¥2 million. In fact, FUNDINNO's own FAQ ("How much can I invest per company annually?") states its standard cap remains ¥500,000 as of this writing (2026-07-24). The ¥2 million figure is a legal ceiling, not an automatic new default.

This does not mean it's now "safer"

A company being able to raise more money doesn't mean that company is more trustworthy. The core investment risks -- total-loss risk, illiquidity, dilution -- exist regardless of deal size, and arguably a bigger raise deserves more, not less, scrutiny of the actual business plan and disclosure documents rather than less. For the full risk breakdown, see equity crowdfunding risks and downsides; for how equity CF compares to Japan's other five funding models, see the six types of Japanese crowdfunding.

Disclaimer

This article is for informational purposes only and does not recommend or discourage investment in any specific financial product, platform, or campaign. Equity crowdfunding is a financial product with no guarantee of principal, and investment decisions are always your own responsibility. Rules and caps can change -- always check the latest official information from JSDA, the FSA, and individual operators (including the pre-contract disclosure document) before investing, and consult a professional if needed.

Sources

• JSDA -- Overview of the equity crowdfunding system
• JSDA -- Rules/regulations/Q&A index (equity crowdfunding), last revised 2026-06-16
• FUNDINNO official IR note -- "In response to the legal amendment, the per-company cap expands to ¥500 million" (2026-01-06)
• Nikkei -- "Unlisted-stock issuance cap ¥500m, FSA eases crowdfunding regulation" (2024-11-28)
• FUNDINNO -- annual investment cap per company (official FAQ)