Japan’s Lawmaker Pushes for Further Easing of Crypto Regulations

Japan’s Web3 lawmaker Masaaki Taira said the government must further ease crypto regulations, Bloomberg reported Tuesday. A Japanese regulator recently decided to relax virtual coin listing rules but Taira argued it “is still not enough” to revive the crypto market in the country.

Easing Crypto Listing Rules is “Not Enough,” Says Lawmaker

Masaaki Taira, a Japanese lawmaker who plays a major part in decisions concerning Japan’s crypto and Web3 policy, told Bloomberg the country’s officials must further relax crypto regulations. Taira’s remarks come after Japanese policymakers recently made it easier for crypto exchanges to list tokens.

“This is still not enough. I don’t think we can stop here.”

– Masaaki Taira, Member of the House of Representatives of Japan

The lawmaker’s comments and recent changes in crypto policy suggest Japan is ramping up efforts to revive the crypto market in the country. The U-turn already attracted some global crypto firms including the biggest crypto bourse in the world, Binance, which is now plotting its return to Japan after four years.

Earlier in 2022, Taira and his team created a white paper draft for the crypto industry and encouraged Prime Minister Fumio Kishida to put nurturing the web3 market as one of his administration’s annual policy guidelines. The white paper also outlined how Japan can use non-fungible tokens (NFTs), which have seen a crunch in demand this year, to boost the economy.

“The arrival of the Web 3.0 era is a great opportunity for Japan. But if we continue as we are now, we will surely miss the boat.”

– Taira’s team noted in the white paper.

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Japan’s U-turn Aims to Nurture Growth of Economy and Local Web3 Startups

In October, Japan’s crypto regulator announced its plans to ease crypto listing rules in a bid to encourage crypto startups and help them compete with the industry giants. More specifically, the regulator decided to allow crypto exchanges to list tokens without having to go through an extensive screening process, except if the tokens are new to the Japanese market.

In addition to relaxing rules for listing tokens, Japanese policymakers also pledged to support the country’s economic growth by nurturing local blockchain startups. In August, Japan’s top financial regulator proposed tax breaks for individual crypto and stock investors in the country to encourage Japanese people to invest their cash holdings into local Web3 businesses and equities.

Japan’s U-turn represents a part of Kishida’s plan to rejuvenate the world’s third-largest economy under a new growth project dubbed “New Capitalism.” One of the important aspects of this plan is aiding the growth of local web3 businesses.

Do you think US crypto regulators should also ease regulations in the industry? Let us know in the comments below.