According to the Green Loan market status report published by the Ministry of Environment's Green Finance Portal, Japan's first green loan was structured in 2017, with steady growth since then centered on renewable energy and green building financing.
Domestic green loan issuance began at 15.7 billion yen in 2017 and reached a record high of 991.9 billion yen in 2023. Subsequently, issuance totaled 837.5 billion yen in 2024 and 405.1 billion yen as of August 8, 2025. Transactions are primarily yen-denominated, with a notable 0.09 billion EUR foreign currency deal recorded in 2022. Exchange rate conversions used fixed rates (1 USD=110 yen, 1 EUR=135 yen, 1 AUD=90 yen) for 2014-2023 and Bank of Japan's official rates from 2024 onwards.
The detailed issuance trend shows modest beginnings in 2017-2018 at 15.7 billion and 14.0 billion yen respectively, growing to 65.2 billion yen in 2019, 80.6 billion yen in 2020, and 162.8 billion yen in 2021. Significant expansion occurred from 2022 with 838.0 billion yen, peaking at 991.9 billion yen in 2023, before moderately declining in 2024-2025 while maintaining high levels.
Internationally, since the world's first green loan was structured in 2014, issuance has been observed primarily in Europe and the Asia-Pacific regions. Based on Environmental Finance database data, global green loan issuance trends show clear regional growth patterns, confirming continued expansion of the global green loan market.
These statistics are compiled by the Ministry of Environment based on information published by fund raisers, financial institutions, and third-party evaluation agencies, principally following self-reported labeling by issuers and financial institutions. The Ministry does not conduct independent screening, and transactions with undisclosed amounts are counted only in volume, not included in total issuance amounts. The above total issuance fluctuations include foreign exchange rate impacts.