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A regional bank in a Japanese term (Japanese: 地方銀行 = "Chihō ginkō" or 地銀 = "Chigin") for one of the banks who are members of the Regional Banks Association of Japan (Zenkoku chihōginkō kyōkai 全国地方銀行協会). As of January 2025, there are 61 such banks. They usually have their head office in the capital city of one of the 47 prefectures of Japan, serving mainly its local prefectural customers.

The regional bank is in contrast to a city bank (都市銀行 ="Toshi ginkō" or 都銀 = "Togin") or "megabank" with its head office in metropolitan Tokyo, Nagoya, or Osaka. Each of these banks have a large footprint and a wide network of branches in the larger cities of Japan.

Examples of the regional banks are: Bank of Yokohama which is headquartered in Yokohama, Kanagawa, Hachijuni Bank with its head office in Nagano, Nagano, and Kagoshima Bank [ja], which recently merged with Higo Bank (肥後銀行) in Kumamoto, Kumamoto to become Kyushu Financial Group. On 1 January 2025, Aomori Bank and Michinoku Bank merged their operations, creating Aomori Michinoku Bank (株式会社青森みちのく銀行).

List

This is a list of regional banks by broad geographic area (from north to south):

• Hokkaido
  • Hokkaido Bank
• Tōhoku region
  • 77 Bank; Akita Bank; Aomori Bank; Bank of Iwate; Fukushima Bank; Hokuto Bank; Michinoku Bank; Shonai Bank; Tohoku Bank; Toho Bank; Yamagata Bank
• Kantō region
  • Bank of Yohohama; Chiba Bank; Chiba Kōgyō Bank; Joyo Bank; Kanto Tsukuba Bank; Nanto Bank; Saitama Bank; Tokyo Star Bank
• Chūbu region
  • Aichi Bank; Hachijuni Bank; Hokkoku Bank; Hokuriku Bank; Juroku Bank; Shizuoka Bank
• Kansai region
  • Amagasaki Shinkin Bank; Bank of Kyoto; Kansai Mirai Bank; Senshu Bank
• Chūgoku region
  • Hiroshima Bank; Tottori Bank; Yamaguchi Bank
• Shikoku
  • Iyo Bank; Shikoku Bank
• Kyūshū & Okinawa
  • Bank of Okinawa; Bank of the Ryukyus; Fukuoka Bank; Kagoshima Bank; Kitakyushu Bank; Kyushu Financial Group; Miyazaki Bank; Nishi-Nihon Bank; Oita Bank; Saga Bank

See also

• List of banks in Japan § Regional banks
• City bank (Japan)
• Shinkin bank

References

1. "About Regional Banks / Outline of Regional Banks｜一般社団法人全国地方銀行協会". 一般社団法人全国地方銀行協会 (in Japanese). Retrieved 2025-01-17.
2. KAHOKU, SHIMPO (2025-01-20). "Rival regional Aomori banks merge to survive amid population decline". The Japan Times. Retrieved 2025-01-21.

External links

• Types of Banks (Japanese Bankers Association, as of December 2019)

• Regional banks of Japan