Mizuho Financial Group Inc said it would stop financing new thermal coal mining projects from June 1 due to pressure from global investors and environmental organizations.
In terms of asset size, Mizuho Financial Group is the third largest bank in Japan.
The group said earlier that it would not provide financing for the "mountaintop removal mining", a mining method that requires blasting the top of the mountain to obtain minerals inside.
Mizuho Financial Group and other banks have tightened their coal lending policies since Japan's Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga announced that he would nearly double the country's emission reduction targets.
Japan's Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group (SMFG), Mizuho Financial Group's biggest rival, said May 12 it would end financing all new coal-fired power plants, and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (MUFG) also stated it will stop financing upgrade projects from existing coal-fired power plant.
(Writing by Emma Yang Editing by Harry Huo)
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