Rating and Investment Information, Inc. (R&I) (格付投資情報センター)

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This entry sits under financial-regulators INDEX. Read it against Japan Credit Rating Agency (JCR) for peer / contrast context and Financial Services Agency (FSA) for the broader regulatory boundary.

TL;DR

One of the 2 major players among Japan’s domestic credit-rating agencies (the other 1 社 being JCR). Founded in 1998-04 through the merger of Japan Bond Research Institute (Mizuho FG (Mizuho FG)) and Nippon Investors Service (of the Nikkei line). It is positioned as a Mizuho Financial Group affiliate (with Mizuho FG (Mizuho FG) as the principal shareholder). It covers sovereigns / financial institutions / operating companies / structured finance / investment-trust evaluation, etc. A major differentiating factor from JCR is that it also runs an investment-trust evaluation business (R&I Fund Information). It is also a major player in the sustainability-finance second-party-opinion (SPO) market.

1. Corporate structure / history

Official name: Rating and Investment Information, Inc. English name: Rating and Investment Information, Inc. (R&I) Establishment: 1998-04-01 (merger of Japan Bond Research Institute + Nippon Investors Service) Head office: Ōtemachi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo Business type: Credit-rating agency (registered under Article 66 -27 of the Financial Instruments and Exchange Act) Principal shareholder: Mizuho FG (Mizuho FG)-affiliated entities at the core (Mizuho line) Competent authority: Financial Services Agency (FSA) (supervision of credit-rating agencies)

History / predecessors

1979       Japan Bond Research Institute established (Industrial Bank of Japan line = source of what later became Mizuho FG (Mizuho FG))
1985       Nippon Investors Service established (Nihon Keizai Shimbun line)
1998-04    The two merged → Rating and Investment Information, Inc. (R&I) launched

Key chronology

Sources: ^[FSA 信用格付業者登録一覧: https://www.fsa.go.jp/menkyo/menkyoj/shinyoukakuduke.pdf; JPX ESG Knowledge Hub「R&I」: https://www.jpx.co.jp/corporate/sustainability/esgknowledgehub/esg-rating/09.html; R&I 公式サイト: https://www.r-i.co.jp/.]

2. Business map

Rating scale

• Long-term ratings: AAA → AA+ / AA / AA- → A+ / A / A- → BBB+ / BBB / BBB- → BB and below → D
• Short-term ratings: a-1+ / a-1 / a-2 / a-3 / b / c / d
• The insurance financial-strength evaluation uses a separate scale (AAA → … → D)

vs JCR

| Item | R&I | JCR | |—|—|—| | Year of establishment | 1998 (predecessors from 1979) | 1985 | | Affiliation | Mizuho line | Independent | | Investment-trust evaluation | Runs R&I Fund Information | None | | Number of issuer ratings | On the scale of several thousand | On the scale of several thousand | | Structured finance | Strong | Strong | | ESG evaluation | Green Bond Assessment | Sustainability-evaluation business |

vs the global 3 majors (S&P / Moody’s / Fitch)

• In the domestic market, the 2 社 ratings of R&I + JCR are standard, and international issuers conventionally additionally obtain S&P or Moody’s
• ECAI (External Credit Assessment Institution) certified → usable for banks’ risk-weighted-asset calculation under the Basel standards

Investment-trust evaluation business

• R&I Fund Information is one of the largest players in domestic investment-trust evaluation
• Quantitative / qualitative evaluation of funds, star ratings, benchmark evaluation, etc.
• R&I’s investment-trust evaluation is widely referenced at the sales front lines of financial institutions
• Competitors: Morningstar, Mitsubishi Asset Brains, etc.

4. Supervision / regulation

• Competent authority: Financial Services Agency (FSA)
• Governing law: Financial Instruments and Exchange Act, Article 66 -27 and following
• Registration: Credit-rating-agency registration (conflict-of-interest management concerning being of the Mizuho line is an important supervisory point)
• ECAI certification: eligible under the Basel standards
• Conforms to the IOSCO Code of Conduct

Issues in conflict-of-interest management

• Insofar as it belongs to the Mizuho line, ensuring independence in rating Mizuho FG group companies is an ongoing supervisory point
• R&I stipulates firewalls (separation of personnel / information / revenue / credit judgment) in its internal rules

Related

• Japan Credit Rating Agency (JCR) · Financial Services Agency (FSA)
• Mizuho FG (Mizuho FG) · Mizuho Bank
• MUFG · SMFG
• Japan Exchange Group (JPX)
• financial-regulators INDEX

Sources

• Wikipedia: Rating and Investment Information, Inc. (https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/格付投資情報センター, extracted 2026-05-25)
• R&I official website (https://www.r-i.co.jp/, accessed 2026-05-25)
• R&I Fund Information (https://www.r-i.co.jp/rifi/, accessed 2026-05-25)
• FSA list of credit-rating agencies (https://www.fsa.go.jp/menkyo/menkyoj/kakuduke.pdf, accessed 2026-05-25)
• Financial Instruments and Exchange Act (Article 66 -27 and following)

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