Japan PM calls Web3 a ‘new form of capitalism’

Japan has welcomed the Web3 industry with open arms as prime minister Fumio Kishida referred to the sector as a “new form of capitalism”.

Kishida’s comments were a part of his keynote address at a WebX conference which happened in Tokyo, Japan. This reaffirmed the country’s commitment to foster the Web3 industry. As reported by local media outlet CoinPost, he hailed the movement’s potential to drive growth through the “resolution of social issues”.

On the same day, Binance announced the launch of the crypto exchange’s services on a new Japanese platform from August 2023 onwards. As reported by BNNBloomberg, this would be on the local exchange platform Sakura Exchange Bitcoin (SEBC). Binance had acquired it back in November 2022.

When the largest crypto exchange acquired SEBC last year, it had announced its entry into the Japanese market, as a Japan Financial Services Agency (JFSA) regulated entity through this acquisition.

SEBC is a JFSA-registered crypto exchange that offers its customers consultation services in addition to its brokerage service. The exchange, which is based in Tokyo, currently supports 11 trading pairs: BTC/JPY, ETH/JPY, BCH/JPY, XRP/JPY, LTC/JPY, ETC/JPY, XEM/JPY, MONA/JPY, ADA/JPY, XYM/JPY, and COT/JPY.

The Web3 sector has been enjoying a favourable ground in Japan since last month. This was when its national tax agency revised legislation which exempts token issuers in the country from paying corporate taxes on unrealised cryptocurrency gains.

In the same sentiment, the Japanese PM highlighted the sector’s potential to drive innovation across industries as he expressed his support for Web3 startups saying: “I hope that the Web3 industry will regain its attention and vitality, and that various new projects will be born.”

He then stated that his government is working on creating an environment for the promotion of Web3. He believes it to have the potential to transform the traditional internet framework and lead social change.

The 25 July event also saw Japan’s Liberal Democratic party’s Policy Research Council chairman, Koichi Hagiuda, giving an opening speech in support of Web3 startups. He expects Japan’s superiority in the adoption of this emerging technology as the country has already developed a strict regulatory environment to protect individuals.

He stated that: “Japan is blessed with the opportunity to promote Web3 business” as its government, the political world, and the private sector are all working together to promote the sector.

Hagiuda also mentioned projects like the “Start Next Innovator” as key in driving the growth of Japanese-owned Web3 businesses. Led by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, the project has already sent 1,000 entrepreneurs and students to Silicon Valley in the past five years.

The Ministry is also set to start a new dispatch program “J-StarX” from this fiscal year, aimed at expanding the dispatch area to the United States, France, Singapore, etc.

Back in January 2022, the “web3 Project Team” (formerly the NFT Policy Review Project Team) established by the Digital Society Promotion Headquarters of the Liberal Democratic Party made Web 3.0 a “new frontier of the digital economy” and a national strategy.

Following this, the headquarters announced “Digital Nippon 2022”, making recommendations on digital measures including Japan’s tax system issues.

In June, the Japanese government took on this recommendation and decided on a growth strategy that included the improvement of the Web 3.0 environment. The “new capitalism” advocated by the Kishida administration runs on the policy to promote the development of the environment for Web 3.0 by using NFT and DAO.