Country Spotlight: Japan

Given that my better half is Japanese, you can say that I feel a sense of affinity with Japanese culture and traditions. It seems to be rather out of character for Japan to be making the news rather frequently these days for its crypto-related developments. People familiar with Japan will know that change takes a long time to occur as the Japanese believe in their tried-and-tested ways to get things done. Hence, I was heartened by such developments and went to find out more. Here are my findings: 

1. Osaka Digital Exchange (ODX) will open to fanfare this June 27 because it aims to make available a private transaction system for listed securities that will be operational outside of the Tokyo Stock Exchange’s operating hours. This increases investing opportunities for savvy investors who are keen to diversify their portfolios. Blockchain advocates will also be pleased to know that ODX plans to launch a secondary market dedicated to the transaction of blockchain-based security tokens next year. (https://www.ledgerinsights.com/smbc-sbi-backed-osaka-digital-exchange-to-launch-this-month-security-tokens-next-year/)
2. The Japanese government shows that it has foresight as it made global headlines for passing a stablecoin bill that necessitates such digital assets to be linked to either the yen or other fiat currency. This suggests that stablecoins are considered as legal tender in Japan! Retail investors will also be given the security that they can redeem their stablecoins at face value. This legal bill is slated to take place in a year from now. Given the Japanese’s penchant for consensus building, they must have mooted this plan and sought to incorporate all relevant perspectives - way before the UST/LUNA fiasco. This news enhances my already favourable impression of Japan because the authorities are proactive to safeguard the financial well-being of its citizens. (https://www.theblockcrypto.com/linked/150032/japan-passes-stablecoin-bill-ensuring-redemption-at-face-value-bloomberg-says?utm_source=cryptopanic&utm_medium=rss) (https://watcher.guru/news/japan-legally-recognizes-stablecoins-as-digital-money )
3. Japan’s economy has not exactly been the most robust for the longest time. Just as Facebook is staking its fate on the metaverse, Japan is similarly optimistic about the evolution of the metaverse. Not only that, it will now have skin in the game, as can be seen by how the government plans to submit new bills dedicated to harnessing the economic potential of the metaverse at the ordinary Diet session next year. (https://finance.yahoo.com/news/japan-government-approves-policy-drive-084119868.html?guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAAGeB_HO-i8Ms7BEb2Xf0H65oqu2cMCgLSl4mncgw0eqI6OBd8nrc_T7wQCuwjhipU09XifLkrdswNc4UiEs-pXSNaD0Qe4bqhBiMscd09TTALisP6sRcsZufyZkUveJQ4AZxteSC9ncbBGf8tf1ixJpzHAeg0YFM9l1L-4L8hrF4&guccounter=2#:~:text=The%20Japanese%20government%20on%20Tuesday,decentralized%20autonomous%20organizations%20)
4. Japan’s most prevalent social messaging platform, LINE launched LINE NFT this April, which empowered users to buy and sell NFTs as well as store their purchased NFTs in a digital wallet that was synced to their LINE account. As someone who uses WhatsApp and Telegram regularly, I applaud the out-of-the-box thinking by the LINE team as they combined chatting and storing NFTs together in one platform. Given that LINE is popular in countries like South Korea and Thailand, it will be interesting to see if LINE NFT can dominate the NFT market in these nations. (https://linecorp.com/en/pr/news/en/2022/4200 )
5. In a bid to facilitate cryptocurrency transactions, Japan Virtual and Crypto Assets Exchange Association - a coalition comprised of 31 exchanges - announced a green list of 17 cryptocurrencies so as to expedite the process necessary to list a cryptocurrency on an exchange. Tokens ranged from the popular BTC and ETH to the frankly obscure ones like MONA, XEM, LSK and OMG. Again, this shows me that sometimes Japan sings its own tune and moves on a different wavelength than the rest of the world. I have never heard of LSK and OMG until today. Still, it was good that Japan didn’t embrace UST and LUNA. (https://watcher.guru/news/japan-to-speed-up-cryptocurrency-listings-with-a-green-list)