Host Organization: Japan Financial Agency

Internship Period: October 24 – December 6, 2017

My internship at the Financial Services Agency of Japan (JFSA), Global Financial Partnership Center (GLOPAC), started in October 2017 and lasted for seven weeks, with the opportunity to become a part of worldwide alumni network for further cooperation even after the program completed. The primary focus of the program is on the insurance business and regulation. Interestingly, the program provides content from both regulator and private sector’s viewpoint on historical, current, and future perspectives. The program also covers other financial issues which are now a priority of financial regulators around the world, such as anti-money laundering inspection, financial literacy and customer protection of financial services users.

The internship program consists of a combination of seminar, lectures tailored to the areas of interest of each participant, and company visits. During the seminar, high-level supervisors from 12 countries shared the development of industry and governing structure of the insurance markets in their countries. The FSA’s staffs provide knowledge sharing sessions covering the topics of the development of insurance market in Japan, regulation and supervision framework, and inspection process. Professionals from private sectors and business associations, such as the General Insurance Association, the Life Insurance Association, and the General Insurance Rating Organization, kindly share the current status of the insurance industry, companies’ risk management and business strategy, as well as the role of private sector in promoting sustainability of the insurance market. Moreover, the program provides an opportunity to visit the call center in Mitsui Sumitomo Marine to learn how the company advice the customers and deal with the complaint.

This internship experience is preparing me in many ways. Knowledge shared from a theoretical and a practical perspective as well as active discussions with supervisors from various countries provide practical case studies which could be applied to my research and future work. Apart from gaining knowledge from comprehensive training, I have learned Japan’s business culture and gained hands-on experience with cross-cultural communication. Furthermore, the program gives me an excellent opportunity to know regulators in the same field from other countries for future collaboration.