# Credit Saison

Credit Saison is a Corporate Investor based in Tokyo, Japan.

## Overview

- **Organization type:** Corporate Investor
- **Headquarters:** Tokyo, Japan
- **Region:** Asia
- **Address:** Sunshine 60 Building, 1-1 Higashi-Ikebukuro 3-chome, Toshima-ku, Tokyo, 170-6073, Japan
- **Founded:** 1951
- **Assets under management:** Undisclosed
- **Website:** corporate.saisoncard.co.jp
- **LinkedIn:** https://www.linkedin.com/company/credit-saison-co.-ltd
- **Wikidata:** Q5183736

## Regulatory record

- **Reports private funds:** No

## About

Credit Saison (TYO: 8253) offers credit card services and other financial services including payment, leasing, finance, real estate, and entertainment. The company has made 56 investments, including a debt investment in CashU on January 19, 2026. Credit Saison has 11 portfolio exits, with its most recent being STOCK POINT on December 15, 2025.

## Sectors

- FinTech
- Real Estate
- Private Credit
- Venture Capital

## Offices

- Mumbai, India

## People

- Katsumi Mizuno — President & CEO

## Questions

### How does Credit Saison fund its investment activities?

Credit Saison invests directly from its corporate balance sheet, not from committed external LP capital. The firm's core business — consumer credit card lending in Japan — generates the cash flows that support its investment program. This structure means the firm has no fund lifetime constraints and can hold positions indefinitely, giving it flexibility that traditional fund managers lack.

### What is Credit Saison's relationship to Mizuho Financial Group?

Mizuho holds a 15.1% stake in Credit Saison India and acts as a strategic partner to the broader Credit Saison group. The partnership gives Credit Saison India access to Mizuho's institutional infrastructure and credit lines, while Mizuho gains exposure to India's consumer lending market through Credit Saison's operational platform. The two firms also co-invest in select fintech opportunities.

### Does Credit Saison operate as a venture capital firm in the traditional sense?

Credit Saison functions as a corporate venture investor, not a standalone VC firm. It co-operates DG Lab alongside Digital Garage and runs CASM Co. as a joint venture with CyberAgent — both structures give it exposure to early-stage Japanese startups. The firm also operates Onigiri Capital for direct investments, but the investment program is ultimately an extension of the parent company's balance sheet rather than a discrete fund-management business.

### What is Credit Saison's posture on co-investments alongside external GPs?

The firm co-invests through strategic partnerships rather than as a passive LP in third-party funds. Its alliances with Mizuho, Suruga Bank, Digital Garage, and CyberAgent all involve shared governance or operational co-development. The Suruga Bank relationship is structured as an equity-method affiliate, meaning Credit Saison exerts meaningful influence over the entity's direction — a posture closer to corporate venturing than to fund-of-funds allocations.

### Where does Credit Saison's underlying capital come from?

Credit Saison's capital base was built organically through Japan's post-war consumer credit expansion. Starting in 1951, the firm accumulated retained earnings from its credit card and revolving-loan operations — not from inherited wealth or external fundraising. Today the firm is publicly listed, so its permanent capital is shareholder equity augmented by corporate bond issuance and bank credit lines from partners including Mizuho.

## Related profiles

- [Creative Financial Services](https://altss.com/profile/creative-financial-services)
- [Credit Suisse](https://altss.com/profile/credit-suisse)

---

Last updated: 2026-06-03T20:00:00.000Z

Canonical page: https://altss.com/profile/credit-saison

Maintained by Altss — https://altss.com — methodology: https://altss.com/methodology