Japanese Exchanges and Listed Products

In work that follows a trade's execution, such as settlement and margin management, the settlement counterparty differs depending on whether the product is a Tokyo Financial Exchange product or a product of one of the other three exchanges. That counterparty is the central counterparty, the entity that takes on the settlement of trades.

Listed products and central counterparties by exchange

Japan's derivatives exchanges differ in their governing law, the products they list, and the central counterparty that clears them, as the table below shows. For example, Nikkei 225 Futures are listed on Osaka Exchange, and crude oil futures on Tokyo Commodity Exchange. Three-month interest rate futures based on the uncollateralized overnight call rate (TONA) are listed on both Osaka Exchange and Tokyo Financial Exchange. This page uses the names each exchange uses for its products¹².

Futures, options, margin trading products, and similar derivatives that are listed and traded on an exchange are market derivatives transactions under the Financial Instruments and Exchange Act. The Act defines market derivatives transactions as derivatives transactions conducted on a financial instruments market under the standards and methods set by the operator of that market³. In contrast, "listed commodities" under the Commodity Derivatives Transaction Act are the goods, such as soybeans and gold, and the electricity that a commodity exchange specifies for trading. They are not the futures that are traded⁴.

The Financial Instruments and Exchange Act defines a financial instruments exchange as an entity that operates a financial instruments market under a license from the Prime Minister⁵. Osaka Exchange is a financial instruments exchange that holds this license⁶. Tokyo Financial Exchange is also a financial instruments exchange². The Commodity Derivatives Transaction Act, on the other hand, defines a commodity exchange as a stock company or similar entity that operates a market for futures on commodities and commodity indices under a license⁷. Tokyo Commodity Exchange is a commodity exchange that holds this license⁶.

According to the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, Japan had two commodity exchanges as of March 2025, Tokyo Commodity Exchange and Osaka Dojima Exchange. Osaka Exchange also trades agricultural products and other commodities. A financial instruments exchange that handles commodities in addition to financial products in this way is called a comprehensive exchange⁸. The difference between exchange-traded derivatives, which trade under standard terms set by the exchange, and OTC derivatives is covered in Exchange-Traded vs OTC Derivatives.

Products listed on Osaka Exchange

Osaka Exchange lists financial futures and options on equity indices, government bonds, interest rates, individual securities, and currencies, as well as commodity futures and options on precious metals, rubber, agricultural products, and more. For example, the futures based on the Nikkei Stock Average are Nikkei 225 Futures, Nikkei 225 mini, and Nikkei 225 Micro Futures. The options are Nikkei 225 Options and Nikkei 225 mini Options¹. The main products by category in the product list of Japan Exchange Group (JPX) are as follows.

In addition, there are futures on the Nikkei Stock Average Dividend Point Index, the Nikkei Stock Average Volatility Index, the TSE REIT Index, and the CME crude oil index¹. Nikkei 225 Futures are based on the Nikkei Stock Average, and TOPIX Futures on the Tokyo Stock Price Index (TOPIX)⁹.

JGB futures are futures on a standardized bond whose coupon and time to maturity are set by the exchange¹⁰. The standardized bond for 10-year JGB Futures is the long-term standardized JGB with a 6% coupon and a 10-year term¹. The contract months and tick sizes are set differently for each product.

Products listed on Tokyo Financial Exchange

Tokyo Financial Exchange lists interest rate futures and options and margin trading products for retail investors. The interest rate products are 3-month TONA futures and options on them, both of which started trading in March 2023. The margin trading products are exchange FX margin trading (Click 365) and exchange equity index margin trading (Click Kabu 365)²¹¹.

Click 365 is a product listed for retail investors and others, based on foreign exchange trading in the interbank market, where dealers at banks and securities companies trade with each other bilaterally. A trader deposits margin and trades an amount several times that margin (leverage). The tradable currency pairs include pairs against the yen, such as US dollar/yen, and pairs without the yen, such as euro/US dollar¹². Click 365 started trading in July 2005¹¹.

Click Kabu 365 is margin trading on domestic and overseas equity indices and exchange-traded funds (ETFs), and a position can be held for up to about 15 months¹³. Like Osaka Exchange's equity index futures, it is based on equity indices, but it is listed on a different exchange and cleared by a different central counterparty.

Products listed on Tokyo Commodity Exchange and Osaka Dojima Exchange

Tokyo Commodity Exchange lists energy futures, and Osaka Dojima Exchange lists futures on a rice index, precious metals, and agricultural products. Tokyo Commodity Exchange's listed products are futures on Dubai crude oil, on gasoline, kerosene, and gas oil, on power in three areas (East, West, and Chubu), and on LNG (liquefied natural gas). It also lists gasoline and kerosene futures classified as Chukyo petroleum¹. Power futures have been formally listed since April 2022 (hon-jojo, full listing), and the kinds of delivery periods and the covered areas have since expanded¹⁴.

Osaka Dojima Exchange's listed products are the Dojima rice average (a rice index), gold, silver, and platinum futures, and corn, US soybean, azuki bean, and raw sugar futures¹⁵. Raw sugar trading has been suspended for the time being since October 4, 2022 (as of March 2025)¹⁶. The ministry describes the rice trading at the Dojima rice market in the Edo period, in which trades were matched in the books without delivering the actual rice (chōaimai akinai), as a forerunner of futures trading¹⁷.

Central counterparties and the integrations of 2013 to 2020

Japan Securities Clearing Corporation (JSCC) clears the listed products of Osaka Exchange, Tokyo Commodity Exchange, and Osaka Dojima Exchange, and Tokyo Financial Exchange clears its own listed products¹⁸¹⁹. So even for the same kind of futures, the central counterparty that becomes the settlement counterparty depends on whether the trade was made on Tokyo Financial Exchange or on one of the other three exchanges. Company A is a securities company that holds the qualification to take part in clearing (clearing qualification) at both JSCC and Tokyo Financial Exchange (TFX)²⁰². Consider a hypothetical example in which Company A buys one 3-month TONA futures contract on Osaka Exchange and one on Tokyo Financial Exchange¹⁸.

Figure description

Company A, which has clearing qualification at both JSCC and TFX, buys one 3-month TONA futures contract each on Osaka Exchange and TFX. Each dashed arrow points to the settlement counterparty for that buy (JSCC and TFX); it does not show a flow of payments or deliveries.

Both JSCC and Tokyo Financial Exchange appear on the Financial Services Agency's list of financial instruments clearing organizations under the Financial Instruments and Exchange Act (as of October 11, 2021)²¹²². JSCC also clears trades on the commodity markets of Tokyo Commodity Exchange and Osaka Dojima Commodity Exchange, as a commodity clearing organization⁶. Osaka Dojima Commodity Exchange changed its name to the current Osaka Dojima Exchange in August 2021²³. How a central counterparty becomes the settlement counterparty is covered in Cleared vs Bilateral Trades.

The current relationship among Osaka Exchange, Tokyo Commodity Exchange, and JSCC came about through a business combination, an integration of clearing functions, and market transfers between 2013 and 2020.

Figure description

The events are in order from the oldest. The last milestone is the market transfer and the JSCC merger on July 27, 2020, which took place on the same day. The spacing between events is not proportional to the length of time.

After the business combination of Tokyo Stock Exchange Group and Osaka Securities Exchange, JSCC integrated the clearing function for the exchange-traded derivatives of Osaka Securities Exchange²⁰. Osaka Securities Exchange changed its name to Osaka Exchange⁶, and Tokyo Commodity Exchange became a subsidiary of JPX¹⁴. With the market transfer and merger of 2020, JSCC also began clearing the commodity derivatives of Osaka Exchange, Tokyo Commodity Exchange, and Osaka Dojima Commodity Exchange²⁴²⁰.

Notes

1. Japan Exchange Group, "商品一覧" (Product list, futures and options, in Japanese; updated April 13, 2026), the tables for Osaka Exchange and Tokyo Commodity Exchange. ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵

2. Tokyo Financial Exchange, "事業内容について" (Our business, in Japanese), "デリバティブ商品の上場と運営" (Listing and operation of derivative products), "上場商品概要" (Overview of listed products), "清算資格について" (Clearing qualification), "上場された商品の清算業務" (Clearing of listed products), and the description under "他の取引所との連携" (Cooperation with other exchanges) ("金融商品取引所であるＴＦＸ", TFX, a financial instruments exchange). ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴

3. "金融商品取引法" (Financial Instruments and Exchange Act, in Japanese), Article 2, paragraph 21. An English translation is available: "Financial Instruments and Exchange Act" (Japanese Law Translation, https://www.japaneselawtranslation.go.jp/en/laws/view/4405); it reflects amendments only up to Act No. 68 of 2022. ↩

4. "商品先物取引法" (Commodity Derivatives Transaction Act, in Japanese), Article 2, paragraph 7. An English translation is available: "Commodity Derivatives Transaction Act" (Japanese Law Translation, https://www.japaneselawtranslation.go.jp/en/laws/view/3191/je); it reflects amendments only up to Act No. 86 of 2012. ↩

5. "金融商品取引法" (Financial Instruments and Exchange Act, in Japanese), Article 2, paragraph 16. An English translation is available: "Financial Instruments and Exchange Act" (Japanese Law Translation, https://www.japaneselawtranslation.go.jp/en/laws/view/4405); it reflects amendments only up to Act No. 68 of 2022. ↩

6. Japan Exchange Group, "事業紹介" (Business overview, in Japanese; updated August 21, 2025), "日本取引所グループとは" (About Japan Exchange Group) and its notes, "大阪取引所" (Osaka Exchange), "東京商品取引所" (Tokyo Commodity Exchange), "デリバティブ市場について" (Derivatives markets), and "日本証券クリアリング機構" (Japan Securities Clearing Corporation). ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵

7. "商品先物取引法" (Commodity Derivatives Transaction Act, in Japanese), Article 2, paragraph 4 (commodity exchanges are member commodity exchanges and incorporated commodity exchanges) and paragraph 6 (incorporated commodity exchanges). An English translation is available: "Commodity Derivatives Transaction Act" (Japanese Law Translation, https://www.japaneselawtranslation.go.jp/en/laws/view/3191/je); it reflects amendments only up to Act No. 86 of 2012. ↩

8. Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, "商品先物取引とは" (What are commodity futures?, in Japanese), "Q＆A", Q1 (as of March 2025). ↩

9. Osaka Exchange, "先物取引のすべて" (All about futures trading, in Japanese), page 2, "株価指数先物取引の仕組み" (How equity index futures work), "（1） 取引の対象" ((1) Underlying). ↩

10. Japan Exchange Group, "商品概要" (Product overview, JGB futures, in Japanese), "商品概要" (Product overview). ↩

11. Tokyo Financial Exchange, "取引所のあゆみ" (History of the exchange, in Japanese), the entries for July 2005 and March 2023. ↩ ↩²

12. Tokyo Financial Exchange, "取引所為替証拠金取引 くりっく３６５" (Exchange FX margin trading Click 365, in Japanese), the opening description and "取引通貨ペア" (Tradable currency pairs). ↩

13. Tokyo Financial Exchange, "取引所株価指数証拠金取引 くりっく株３６５" (Exchange equity index margin trading Click Kabu 365, in Japanese), the opening description. ↩

14. Japan Exchange Group, "沿革" (History, Tokyo Commodity Exchange, since joining Japan Exchange Group, in Japanese; updated April 13, 2026). ↩ ↩²

15. Osaka Dojima Exchange, "上場商品について" (Listed products, in Japanese). ↩

16. Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, "商品先物取引とは" (What are commodity futures?, in Japanese), "Q＆A", Q2, "（参考）国内の上場商品・上場商品指数一覧（2025年3月時点）" (Reference: list of domestic listed commodities and listed commodity indices, as of March 2025). ↩

17. Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, "商品先物取引とは" (What are commodity futures?, in Japanese), "先物取引の歴史" (History of futures trading), "江戸時代" (Edo period). ↩

18. Japan Securities Clearing Corporation, "先物・オプション取引に係る取引証拠金" (in Japanese), the opening description. An English version is available: "Margin on Futures and Options" (https://www.jpx.co.jp/jscc/en/cash/futures/marginsystem/margin.html). ↩ ↩²

19. Tokyo Financial Exchange, "清算決済業務概要" (Overview of clearing and settlement, in Japanese), the opening description and "清算機関とは" (What is a clearing house?). ↩

20. Japan Securities Clearing Corporation, "JSCCとは" (About JSCC, in Japanese), the opening description, the history entries for July 2013 and July 2020, and "「清算機関」の機能" (The functions of a clearing house). ↩ ↩² ↩³

21. "金融商品取引法" (Financial Instruments and Exchange Act, in Japanese), Article 2, paragraph 29. An English translation is available: "Financial Instruments and Exchange Act" (Japanese Law Translation, https://www.japaneselawtranslation.go.jp/en/laws/view/4405); it reflects amendments only up to Act No. 68 of 2022. ↩

22. Financial Services Agency, "金融商品取引清算機関" (Financial instruments clearing organizations, in Japanese; as of October 11, 2021). ↩

23. Osaka Dojima Exchange, "堂島取引所のご案内" (Guide to Osaka Dojima Exchange, in Japanese; as of August 2024, posted on the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries website), page 1, the timeline entries for April 2021 and August 2021. ↩

24. Japan Exchange Group, "貴金属先物等の市場移管及び清算機関の統合の完了について" (Completion of the market transfer of precious metals futures and others and the integration of clearing houses, in Japanese; July 27, 2020). ↩

25. Osaka Exchange, "先物取引のすべて" (All about futures trading, in Japanese), page 10, "株価指数先物取引の仕組み" (How equity index futures work), "（4） 立会方法" ((4) Trading sessions), the note to "①立会時間" (① Trading hours). ↩

26. Osaka Exchange, "先物取引のすべて" (All about futures trading, in Japanese), page 12, "株価指数先物取引の仕組み" (How equity index futures work), "（5） 取引単位、呼値、制限値幅及びノンキャンセル・ピリオド" ((5) Trading unit, quotes, price limits, and non-cancellation period), "④制限値幅" (④ Price limits). ↩