A major system outage impacted Japan’s regional banking network on Friday, November 6, 2026. The outage disabled customer transactions across 128 shinkin banks (cooperative financial institutions) in western Japan.
System Outage
Most shinkin banks across Japan use a highly centralized shared network infrastructure known as the Shinkin Joint System. A total of 236 shinkin banks nationwide, representing more than 90% of the sector, rely on this system. The infrastructure is operated with support from technology partner, NTT DATA. The network architecture is physically split into two regional centers: the East Japan Center and the West Japan Center.
Transaction services stopped working at around 1:30 p.m. Japan Standard Time (JST). The failure occurred shortly after the western region’s system had undergone a system update in mid-October.
Shinkin Central Bank and the Shinkin Kyodo Center attributed the disruption to a a communications equipment failure at the West Japan Center. Officials attributed the outage to equipment failure rather than unauthorized access or cyberattacks.
Scope of the Outage
The outage impacted 128 participating shinkin institutions in the Tokai region and farther west, extending through Kinki (including prefectures such as Osaka and Nara), Hiroshima, and all the way to Kyushu. For instance, services at 27 shinkin banks were disrupted across the Kinki region and Tokushima Prefecture alone.
Customers were unable to complete counter transactions at a total of 3,430 bank branches. Regional institutions affected by the disruption included Osaka City Shinkin Bank, Osaka Shinkin Bank, Nara Shinkin Bank, Okazaki Shinkin Bank, and Hiroshima Shinkin Bank.
Over-the-counter deposits, cash withdrawals, and transfers requested at branch counters at all 3,430 branches were suspended. Moreover, cash withdrawals, deposits, and transfers at the affected banks’ ATMs were halted. Interbank ATM services were also affected. Customers reported being unable to use their shinkin bank cards at partner financial institutions and third-party convenience store ATMs as well. Internet banking services and mobile banking apps for both individual customers and business clients were impacted. Finally, some direct debits and scheduled account withdrawals faced delays or remained pending.
