A system failure has disrupted 128 banks in western Japan.
ATMs, branch counters and online banking services are suspended.
The cause remains unclear, with no restoration timeline announced.
A technical failure has disrupted banking services at 128 shinkin banks in western Japan, preventing customers from withdrawing or depositing cash and accessing online banking facilities.
The outage started at around 1.30 pm on November 6, Shinkin Central Bank said. The bank jointly operates the core banking systems used by shinkin banks across Japan, according to CNBC.
The disruption has spread across all 128 shinkin banks west of the Tokai region. Customers cannot use ATMs for cash withdrawals or transfers, while deposits and withdrawals at counters in 3,430 branches have also been halted. Internet banking is down as well, and no time has been announced for services to resume.
Shinkin Central Bank traced the problem to a communication breakdown involving equipment at its West Japan Centre, which manages the regional banking network.
The bank suspects a hardware fault but has yet to establish the exact cause. It also said there were no signs of unauthorised access and that it did not believe the disruption was linked to a cyberattack.
The disruption remains limited to western Japan, with shinkin banks in the eastern part of the country continuing to function normally. The Shinkin Joint System supports 236 shinkin banks, representing more than 90% of all such lenders in Japan. Its operations are divided between eastern and western networks.
The outage could affect routine banking, payments and money transfers for local businesses. Small firms and sole traders may face particular difficulties because many depend on regional shinkin banks for their financial transactions.
Engineers are working to restart the affected systems and determine what caused the failure. Shinkin Central Bank is coordinating with the affected banks as it tries to restore services. There have been no reports of the problem reaching the eastern network.
