ASBJ 12
Superseded
Accounting Standard for Quarterly Financial Reporting
Accounting Standard for Quarterly Financial Reporting is part of the Japan GAAP framework.
Superseded Standard
ASBJ Statement No. 12 on Quarterly Financial Reporting has been SUPERSEDED following Japan's statutory reform replacing mandatory quarterly reporting with semi-annual reporting under ASBJ Statement No. 33 and interim reporting under ASBJ Statement No. 37.
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Conceptual Framework Linkage
A once-mandatory regime, now folded into a lighter-touch semi-annual framework
ASBJ Statement No. 12 HISTORICALLY established Japan's MANDATORY quarterly financial reporting regime for listed companies – introduced following EARLY-2000s reforms to the Financial Instruments and Exchange Act (金融商品取引法) requiring listed companies to report FOUR times a year rather than just semi-annually or annually. This regime has since been LARGELY SUPERSEDED as part of a broader REGULATORY reform reducing the statutory reporting BURDEN, moving TOWARD semi-annual (interim) reporting instead.
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Scope – the Historical Quarterly Regime
Listed companies filing quarterly reports
This Statement HISTORICALLY applied to LISTED companies required to file QUARTERLY reports (四半期報告書) under the Financial Instruments and Exchange Act, covering each of the first three quarters of the fiscal year (the fourth quarter being effectively covered by the ANNUAL report).
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Why Quarterly Reporting Was Introduced
Enhanced investor transparency, following international disclosure trends
MANDATORY quarterly reporting was introduced to give INVESTORS more FREQUENT, TIMELY insight into a listed company's financial performance and position – REDUCING the information gap between annual (and previously semi-annual) reports, broadly FOLLOWING international disclosure trends toward more FREQUENT interim reporting seen in other major capital markets at the time.
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Cumulative vs Single-Quarter Presentation
Two acceptable presentation approaches for the income statement
Companies could present quarterly results EITHER on a CUMULATIVE basis (year-to-date figures, e.g. the first six months for the second quarter) OR on a SINGLE-QUARTER basis (results for THAT quarter alone) – with the CUMULATIVE approach being the MORE COMMONLY adopted method in practice.
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The 2024–2025 Reform – Moving Toward Semi-Annual Reporting
A deliberate reduction in the statutory reporting burden
As part of a BROADER disclosure reform, Japan MOVED AWAY from requiring FULL statutory quarterly financial statements for the FIRST and THIRD quarters, toward a LIGHTER-TOUCH regime centred on SEMI-ANNUAL (interim, second-quarter) statutory reporting instead – REFLECTED first in ASBJ Statement No. 33 (Semi-annual Financial Reporting), and SUBSEQUENTLY REWORKED into ASBJ Statement No. 37 (Interim Financial Reporting) – a genuinely SIGNIFICANT reduction in the STATUTORY reporting burden for listed companies, reflecting a POLICY judgement that quarterly stock-exchange summary disclosure (Section 6) already provides SUFFICIENT timely information WITHOUT requiring a FULL, separately-standardised statutory quarterly financial statement filing for every quarter.
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Integration With Stock Exchange Summary Disclosure
"Kessan Tanshin" continuing to provide quarterly market disclosure
SEPARATELY from the STATUTORY financial reporting regime, Japanese stock exchanges (notably the Tokyo Stock Exchange) have LONG required listed companies to release a "KESSAN TANSHIN" (決算短信) – a SUMMARY earnings disclosure – on a QUARTERLY basis, under exchange LISTING RULES rather than the Financial Instruments and Exchange Act itself. The 2024–2025 reform's REDUCTION of the FULL statutory quarterly reporting burden was DESIGNED to work ALONGSIDE this CONTINUING exchange-level quarterly summary disclosure, avoiding DUPLICATIVE reporting obligations.
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Worked Example – the Historical Quarterly Regime in Outline
Filing a first-quarter report under the old regime
Example: A listed company's Q1 filing before the reform
A listed Japanese company, under the OLD regime, filed a quarterly report for its first fiscal quarter, presenting condensed financial statements on a cumulative basis.
TODAY, the SAME company would generally NOT be required to file a FULL statutory quarterly report for that FIRST quarter – its PRIMARY statutory reporting obligation now centres on the SEMI-ANNUAL (second-quarter) interim report under ASBJ Statement No. 37, with QUARTERLY market transparency continuing to be served through its exchange-mandated "kessan tanshin" summary disclosure instead.
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Current Treatment – ASBJ Statement No. 37
Interim Financial Reporting as the current primary framework
Today, LISTED companies apply ASBJ Statement No. 37, Interim Financial Reporting, for their SEMI-ANNUAL statutory reporting obligation – the CURRENT successor to this Statement's original quarterly regime, reflecting the genuinely REDUCED statutory reporting frequency now in force.
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Disclosure Requirements (Current, Post-Reform)
What applies today instead
Semi-annual (interim) statutory financial statements under ASBJ Statement No. 37Continuing quarterly "kessan tanshin" summary disclosure under stock exchange listing rules
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Critical Judgments
Where judgement matters most (historically and today)
HISTORICAL JUDGEMENTS
Whether to present quarterly results on a cumulative or single-quarter basis
CURRENT JUDGEMENTS
Materiality assessment for the semi-annual interim period under ASBJ Statement No. 37
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Relationship to IAS/IFRS
Comparison – J-GAAP's reformed regime vs IAS 34
IAS 34 (Interim Financial Reporting) does NOT itself MANDATE any particular reporting FREQUENCY – it applies WHENEVER an entity prepares an interim report, WHETHER quarterly, semi-annual, or otherwise, leaving the FREQUENCY decision to LOCAL regulatory requirements. Japan's SHIFT from mandatory quarterly to semi-annual statutory reporting is therefore a change in LOCAL REGULATORY POLICY, not a divergence from any SPECIFIC IFRS frequency requirement – IAS 34's PRINCIPLES (condensed statements, consistent accounting policies, materiality assessed at the interim level) remain broadly APPLICABLE regardless of which frequency a jurisdiction chooses.
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Statement Mapping
Where interim/quarterly reporting now lands
EventStatement(s) affectedNotes
Semi-annual statutory reportingAll condensed statementsGoverned by the current ASBJ Statement No. 37
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Related Standards
Cross-reference map
StandardConnection
ASBJ Statement No. 33 / No. 37Successor standards – the current semi-annual (interim) financial reporting framework
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Quick-Reference Glossary
Kessan Tanshin (決算短信)
A stock exchange listing rule-mandated summary earnings disclosure, released quarterly, continuing independently of the reduced statutory quarterly reporting regime.
Interim Financial Reporting (ASBJ Statement No. 37)
The current successor framework governing Japan's semi-annual statutory financial reporting obligation.
Financial statement key (Japan GAAP terminology)
BS Balance Sheet (貸借対照表) P&L Statement of Income / Profit and Loss Statement (損益計算書) Net Assets 純資産の部 SCNA Statement of Changes in Net Assets (株主資本等変動計算書) SCF Statement of Cash Flows (キャッシュ・フロー計算書)