Promoting the Sound Development of Family Offices and Raising Professional Standards
The Family Office Practitioners Association of Japan (FOPAJ) was established to organize and systematize practical expertise relating to family offices, family governance, wealth succession, business succession, next-generation education and wealth management, and thereby support the sound development of family offices in Japan.
In recent years, there has been growing recognition in Japan, particularly among founding families, business owners, landowners and wealth-owning families, that wealth management and business succession should not be treated merely as matters of tax or inheritance planning. Instead, they need to be approached as part of a comprehensive framework for protecting a family, its businesses and its wealth over the long term and passing them on to the next generation.
At the same time, although the term “family office” is becoming more widely used, its actual functions and responsibilities are not yet sufficiently understood. A broad range of professional advisers may be involved, including asset management firms, tax accounting firms, law firms, trust banks, private banks, M&A advisers and real estate companies. However, their respective areas of expertise often remain siloed, making it difficult to hold discussions that place the long-term interests of the family as a whole at the center.
Against this background, FOPAJ organizes and shares knowledge, practical expertise, case studies, regulatory developments and international trends relating to family offices, and provides a forum in which practitioners, professional advisers and other stakeholders can learn from one another.
Background to Our Establishment
In Japan, discussions concerning wealth succession and business succession often become divided into separate subjects, such as inheritance tax planning, the succession of shareholdings, M&A and real estate management. In practice, however, the challenges faced by families extend across all of these areas.
For example, the following issues cannot ordinarily be resolved by a single professional adviser acting alone:
- How should a founding family maintain control of its operating company?
- What forms of education and experience should be provided to the next generation?
- How should family meetings and decision-making rules be designed?
- How should investment management, direct business investments, real estate, insurance and trusts be combined?
- How should a family’s values and guiding principles be passed on to the next generation?
- What type of structure should be established in light of domestic and international tax systems, residency considerations and legal frameworks?
A family office is a framework for addressing these complex issues in a long-term and integrated manner.
FOPAJ does not regard family offices solely as structures for a limited number of ultra-high-net-worth families. We regard them as an important field of professional practice for business owners, founding families, wealth-owning families and the professional advisers who support them.
Our Approach
FOPAJ is not primarily established to sell particular products or broker individual transactions. Our priority is to organize knowledge and practical expertise relating to family offices and to build a foundation on which relevant parties can learn, exchange views and collaborate appropriately.
Our principal areas of activity are as follows.
1. Providing Accessible Information on the Fundamentals of Family Offices
We provide clear and accessible information for those who are learning about family offices for the first time. Topics include what a family office is, which families may need one, which professional advisers may be involved, and the differences between a single-family office and a multi-family office.
2. Organizing and Systematizing the Expertise of Practitioners and Professional Advisers
We address cross-disciplinary issues involving investment management, inheritance and succession, taxation, legal matters, trusts, real estate, M&A, family governance and next-generation education.
By bringing together families with an interest in family offices and leading practitioners from relevant fields, we aim to develop a body of current, practice-oriented knowledge that can be applied to real-world family office matters.
3. Introducing International Practices and Regulatory Developments
In Europe, North America, Singapore and other jurisdictions, family offices have already developed into important infrastructure for wealth management and succession.
FOPAJ does not seek simply to import overseas systems and practices into Japan. Instead, we place importance on understanding how international experience can be interpreted and adapted in a manner consistent with Japanese families, businesses, tax systems, legal frameworks and culture.
4. Supporting the Development of Trusted Professional Networks
In family office practice, the range of issues that can be resolved by any one professional adviser is necessarily limited.
FOPAJ seeks to create an environment in which professional advisers from different disciplines understand one another’s roles and can collaborate with the long-term interests of the family at the center of their work.
Our Core Principles
The essence of a family office lies not in tax reduction or investment management alone.
What should a family protect? What should it pass on? How should it engage with society?
A family office is a framework through which a family can address these fundamental questions.
FOPAJ takes a comprehensive view of family offices, considering not only the scale of a family’s wealth, but also its values and guiding principles, the history of its businesses, the development of the next generation and its relationship with society.
Message from Our Representatives
Yoko Hanawa
“Passing Family Office Expertise on to Japan’s Next Generation.”
In recent years, the term “family office” has gradually become more widely recognized in Japan. However, its essential role and the practical work it entails have yet to be fully understood, organized and shared.
Family offices are often misunderstood as exclusive investment management services for wealthy individuals and families. In reality, however, a family office extends far beyond the management of financial assets in the short term.
It is a comprehensive framework that addresses the wide range of interconnected challenges faced by business-owning families and family businesses. These include investment management, taxation, legal matters, real estate, business succession, family decision-making and family governance, next-generation education, and philanthropy. Its purpose is to preserve and pass on a family’s wealth and values across generations.
Professionals supporting wealthy families and business-owning families in Japan—including financial institutions, legal, tax and accounting professionals, and consultants—have developed a high degree of expertise in their respective fields.
However, the increasingly complex and long-term nature of the challenges facing families means that expertise confined to individual professional disciplines is no longer sufficient to produce the best overall solutions. Japan now has a pressing need for the cross-disciplinary practical expertise and independent perspectives demonstrated by leading family offices in Europe, North America and Asia.
It was against this background that we established the Family Office Practitioners Association of Japan.
FOPAJ is not merely a forum for promoting general awareness of the family office concept. It is a platform that brings together leading practitioners and professional advisers from a wide range of fields to deepen their understanding of case studies, institutions and regulatory frameworks, and to learn from one another, accumulate and further develop practical expertise that can genuinely be applied in real-world settings.
Our objective is to support the sound development of family office practice in Japan. Through this work, we aspire to help ensure that Japan’s valuable businesses, industries, cultural heritage and wealth are preserved and passed on responsibly to future generations.
We sincerely welcome the participation and active engagement of professional advisers with an interest in family office practice, as well as business-owning families seeking to prepare for a successful transition to future generations.
Family Office Practitioners Association of Japan
Representative Director Yoko Hanawa
Hiromitsu Kawakita
“Global Standards in Investment Management and Governance, for a Stronger Future for Japan.”
Structural changes in the global economy and the transition to an inflationary environment have brought Japan’s asset owners to a critical turning point.
Historically, wealthy individuals and families in Japan have tended to focus on defensive wealth preservation, primarily through tax planning and the holding of cash and deposits. In an era in which the purchasing power of money itself is being eroded, however, preserving wealth will require a deliberate shift toward investment management that is capable of generating sustainable growth.
This does not mean pursuing short-term returns through individual investment products. It requires a new perspective: viewing a family’s wealth in its entirety and optimizing it as an integrated, cross-asset portfolio.
Professional advisers across a wide range of disciplines have long provided highly sophisticated services to wealthy families and business-owning families in Japan. At the same time, it is also true that traditional, single-discipline approaches are no longer sufficient to address the increasing complexity of international financial markets and the structural risks posed by inflation.
Over the course of my career, I have met with numerous investment professionals at leading international foundations and family offices, and have observed firsthand the global standards they apply to investment management and wealth preservation.
They first establish robust tax, legal and governance frameworks, and then combine these foundations with dynamic global investment strategies designed to preserve purchasing power and generate returns above inflation. These elements are not treated separately, but as integral parts of a single, coherent system.
I firmly believe that one of Japan’s most pressing priorities is to bring this independent and advanced investment expertise into practice by adapting it appropriately to Japan’s legal framework, institutions and culture.
It was out of this strong sense of purpose that we established the Family Office Practitioners Association of Japan.
FOPAJ is not simply a forum for studying theories or concepts. It is a practice-oriented platform that examines investment structures and governance frameworks operating at the forefront of markets in Japan and internationally, and brings together leading Japanese practitioners to share knowledge and develop solutions that genuinely work in real-world settings.
Our objective is to establish a standard of family office practice in Japan that is internationally credible and globally competitive. Through this work, we seek to build a resilient foundation that will enable the wealth, entrepreneurial legacy and defining values created by Japan’s business-owning families to be passed securely to future generations, even in times of profound change.
At this important moment of transition, we warmly welcome practitioners who wish to help build the infrastructure required for the next generation, as well as asset owners seeking to manage and protect their wealth from a global perspective.
Family Office Practitioners Association of Japan
Representative Director and Co-Founder Hiromitsu Kawakita
Our Activities
FOPAJ organizes and systematizes knowledge and practical expertise relating to family offices and provides a forum in which members and other stakeholders can learn, exchange views and collaborate.
Our principal activities include research, information sharing, the provision of reports, seminars and study groups, and the development of professional networks. FOPAJ is not primarily established to sell particular products or broker individual transactions. Instead, we seek to support the sound development of family office practice and deepen understanding among all relevant parties.
1. Research
FOPAJ conducts research into domestic and international trends, legal and regulatory frameworks, practical case studies, and the roles of professional advisers in relation to family offices. Our principal research areas include:
- The fundamental structure of a family office
- Family governance and family meetings
- Business succession and the succession of shareholdings
- Investment management and portfolio management
- The integrated management of real estate, business assets and financial assets
- The use of inheritance planning, gifting, trusts and foundations
- Next-generation education
- Family office frameworks in other jurisdictions
- Developments in family office practice in Singapore, Europe, North America and other parts of Asia
- Professional collaboration and conflict-of-interest management
We examine these subjects not merely as matters of theory, but from the perspective of how they can be applied in practice.
2. Reports and Information
FOPAJ provides members and other stakeholders with reports and explanatory materials relating to family offices. Our reports cover a broad range of subjects, from the fundamentals of family offices to international regulatory developments, succession challenges in Japan, interviews with practitioners and detailed explanations of specialist topics.
Our aim is to provide materials that are accessible to those learning about family offices for the first time, while also serving as useful reference materials for practitioners.
3. Seminars and Study Groups
FOPAJ organizes seminars, study groups and workshops relating to family offices. We offer programs covering both introductory and specialist subjects, taking into account participants’ levels of knowledge and areas of interest.
Our seminars and study groups do not focus solely on one-way information delivery. We also place importance on discussion among participants and the sharing of practical challenges and perspectives.
4. Events and Networking
Family office practice requires collaboration across multiple professional disciplines. FOPAJ organizes events and networking opportunities through which practitioners and professional advisers in fields such as taxation, law, investment management, real estate, M&A, insurance, trusts, education and international legal and regulatory frameworks can deepen their understanding of one another’s work.
We also plan to organize an annual family office study tour to Singapore.
FOPAJ is not, however, intended to operate merely as a referral business or a platform for introducing individual transactions. We place importance on creating an environment in which professional advisers understand one another’s roles and can collaborate in a manner that serves the long-term interests of the family.
5. Education and Awareness-Building
Systematic information about family offices remains limited in Japan. FOPAJ therefore places considerable emphasis on education and awareness-building for those who are learning about family offices for the first time.
Through introductory explanations, glossaries, frequently asked questions, introductory reports, seminar videos and case studies published on our website, we provide clear and accessible information.
We also seek to explain family offices not merely in the context of tax planning or the sale of financial products, but as a comprehensive framework for addressing the interconnected needs of a family, its businesses, its wealth, succession and next-generation education.
6. Practice Guidelines and Ethical Principles
Family office practitioners and professional advisers are entrusted with access to highly sensitive and important information relating to families. Confidentiality, conflicts of interest, information management, accountability and the appropriate allocation of responsibilities among professional advisers are therefore of critical importance.
FOPAJ seeks to examine these practical issues and contribute to the development of shared principles and practice guidelines for those involved in family office work.
The sound development of family offices requires more than an increase in the number of service providers. It also requires trusted and credible professional standards. FOPAJ is committed to helping build this foundation.
7. Member Programs
FOPAJ provides members with access to reports, study groups, seminars, members-only events and information on specialist topics.
Our membership structure is intended for those who wish to participate in the Association’s activities on an ongoing basis and deepen their understanding of family offices, as well as practitioners and professional advisers seeking to strengthen their practical expertise.
8. Membership
The Family Office Practitioners Association of Japan offers membership to individuals and organizations that support the purpose of the Association and wish to participate in its activities on an ongoing basis.
Depending on the applicable membership category, members are offered opportunities including access to research reports, participation in study groups and seminars, invitations to members-only events, and information on specialist topics.
Membership is subject to the submission of the prescribed application and review and approval by FOPAJ. Details regarding membership categories, annual membership dues, membership benefits and other conditions will be provided separately.
Those considering membership are invited to contact us through the inquiry form.
What We Seek to Achieve
Our objective is not simply to make the term “family office” more widely known.
What matters is the sound development in Japan of the professional practices required to protect families, businesses and wealth over the long term and pass them on to the next generation.
Through the organization of knowledge, collaboration among practitioners, information sharing, education and awareness-building, FOPAJ will continue working to establish a strong foundation for family office practice in Japan.
Organization Overview
| Official Name | Family Office Practitioners Association of Japan (FOPAJ) 一般社団法人ファミリーオフィス実務家協会 |
|---|---|
| Representatives | Yoko Hanawa, Representative Director Hiromitsu Kawakita, Representative Director and Co-Founder |
| Address | Ginza Wall Bldg. 501, 6-13-16 Ginza, Chuo-ku, Tokyo 104-0061, Japan |
| Date of Establishment | July 1, 2026 |