Crypto Czar from the Japanese Government Praises the Nation’s Web3 Capability

Japan leads in new technologies, especially in Web3. This is the message from Masaaki Taira, an MP in the ruling Liberal Democratic Party and head of the Web 3.0 project team, during his presentation at Thursday’s NexTech Week trade show in Tokyo. Taira is an outspoken advocate for cryptocurrencies and used her presentation to highlight Japan’s capabilities in Web3, the new internet built around decentralized blockchain technology, the metaverse, and non-fungible tokens (NFT).

The Japanese government and Prime Minister Fumio Kishida have been enthusiastic advocates of new technologies, and Web3 in particular, as pillars of the country’s economic future. This is in stark contrast to the US, where regulatory turmoil and doubts about the future of the country’s Web3 are increasing due to lawsuits against cryptocurrency exchanges. In April, a Japanese government-affiliated white paper was released outlining the country’s path for widespread adoption of Web3, including crypto. The document has become a “major talking point” in Japan and overseas, according to Taira.

Taira noted that executives from global technology companies, including Microsoft, Amazon, Meta, and Apple, have visited Japan to discuss the proposals after reading the white paper. Until the government’s pivot towards crypto and blockchain, there was a sense that the Japanese digital asset space was stagnating due to events such as the collapse of Tokyo-based crypto exchange Mt Gox in 2014 and the Coincheck hack in 2018. However, Taira says that Japanese cryptocurrency exchanges are now the ones safest in the world, and the country’s experiments with stablecoins are bearing fruit.

Japan’s historical soft power strength in anime, manga and games is a perfect fit for the Web3 space, Taira said, particularly in the area of ​​NFTs and metaverse development. He noted that there are still many potential values ​​to be explored in these areas. Regarding Artificial Intelligence, Taira said that capital investment is needed to support experimentation and encourage the nation’s young developers to shop domestically instead of going abroad. He admits that mistakes have been made in cultivating young, talented Japanese entrepreneurs and innovators, leading many to seek more favorable conditions in places like Dubai and Singapore.

Taira hopes to create a system that will allow young researchers and startups to access and utilize increased resources under better conditions. He said this would include solving “a number of tax issues” which remain the last barrier to increased development. The final day of NexTech Week is on Friday, with a presentation from blockchain platform Financie Inc. and J1 League football team Avispa Fukuoka. The duo operates the Avispa Fukuoka Sports Innovation DAO, which is designed to introduce global fans to the football team of a city that has emerged as a hub for tech startups in Japan. This presentation will help the audience better understand whether Taira’s efforts to date are paying off.