Regional Banks, Ship Finance and Japan’s Maritime Ecosystem

地方銀行の船舶ファイナンス与信残高は引き続き増加を続けています。

Regional banks continue to expand their ship finance loan portfolios.

参考記事：
中国銀行、船舶ファイナンス残高5,000億円目指す

特に瀬戸内周りの地銀にとっての船舶ファイナンスは、狭い意味での船主向けだけでなく、造船業、舶用品メーカー、更にそれらの企業に勤める従業員の皆様への住宅ローンまで含めたエコシステム融資とでも呼ぶべきもので、それを外航船主が稼得する外貨建て収入（今や多くの日本の企業、個人が渇望するものです）の循環によって経済の生態系が維持されていく様は実に完成度の高い日本の大きな産業的財産です。

For regional banks in the Setouchi region, ship finance should not be viewed merely as lending to shipowners. Rather, it represents a form of ecosystem financing that supports a broad maritime cluster, including shipbuilders, marine equipment manufacturers, logistics providers, and even residential mortgages for employees working within these industries.

Foreign-currency revenues earned by oceangoing shipowners flow through this ecosystem and sustain a wide range of economic activities. At a time when foreign-currency income has become increasingly valuable to Japan, this circulation mechanism stands out as a highly sophisticated and resilient industrial ecosystem. In this sense, the maritime cluster surrounding ship finance constitutes one of Japan’s most important industrial assets.

高市政権下での造船業への支援は、LNG船生産が日本において途絶した経緯を考えらればやるべきことだと思います。そして2010年代における海運不況下で造船業のベースの需要を支えたのは外航船主というドメスティックな投資家であったことを考えると、個人的には政府の支援は造船業のみならずより広範な海運エコシステム全体を目配りしながら実施していく必要があるでしょう。そして金融機関サイドも従来の地元行だけではなく、オールジャパンで船舶ファイナンスを支えていくべきというのが、多少のポジショントークも混ざった私の考えです。

Support for the shipbuilding industry under a Takaichi administration would, in my view, be both justified and necessary, particularly in light of the fact that Japan has effectively lost its LNG carrier construction capability over the past decade.

At the same time, policy support should not be limited to shipbuilding alone. During the prolonged downturn in the shipping markets throughout the 2010s, it was domestic oceangoing shipowners who provided the underlying demand that helped sustain Japan’s shipbuilding industry. This historical experience suggests that policymakers should take a broader perspective and consider the maritime ecosystem as a whole, rather than focusing on individual sectors in isolation.

From this perspective, support measures should encompass not only shipbuilders, but also shipowners, marine equipment manufacturers, maritime service providers, and the financial institutions that underpin the industry. Likewise, financing for shipowners should not remain the responsibility of a handful of regional banks with maritime roots. Instead, ship finance should be supported on an all-Japan basis by the broader Japanese banking sector.

Admittedly, there may be a degree of self-interest in this view. Nevertheless, I believe that strengthening the entire maritime ecosystem is essential if Japan is to preserve and enhance one of its most valuable industrial assets.