Hiroshima Prefecture and Investment

sibs: Although the size of the funds were relatively small 24 million and 9.7 million, respectively the involvement of major banks as investors, such as SMBC and Mizuho Bank, indicated that this could be another social investment product for mainstream investors, according to The Japan Times. SIBs originated in the U.K. in 2010 and have expanded to 100 projects in 20 countries with a total investment of over 400 million as of 2018. The first batch of SIBs in Japan were launched in three municipalities during 2017 and 2018 following the themes of severe diabetes prevention in the city of Kobe and colorectal cancer screening in the city of Hachioji and Hiroshima Prefecture. SIBs are unique programs providing investment opportunities in preventive social programs with the aim of bringing medium- to long-term benefits to both beneficiaries and government. In Japan, the focus of SIB programs has been health care. The first SIB was structured by the U.K. government for a prisoner rehabilitation program to prevent the high costs involved when ex-offenders return to prison, allowing investors to gain financial return based on the success of the social outcomes. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.