Japanese regulators approved a merger between the nation's two biggest stock exchanges, paving the way for the first tie-up of major bourses after $32 billion of global deals failed since last February.

The merger is not expected to substantially restrain competition, Japan Fair Trade Commission said in a statement today. Tokyo Stock Exchange Group Inc. will proceed with its 480,000 yen-per-share takeover of Osaka Securities Exchange Co., aimed at completing the tie-up on Jan. 1, the bourses said.

"Considering the international competition in the industry, it was appropriate for the regulator to approve this," said Sadakazu Osaki, head of research at Nomura Research Institute Ltd. in Tokyo.

The deal was cleared six months after the regulator began its review on Jan. 4. The commission last year streamlined rules to increase transparency, speed decision-making, and clarify merger and acquisition guidelines. It emphasized that a geographical market can be defined as worldwide or regional, not just Japanese, in judging whether a company would have a monopoly.