Japananese prime minister Fumio Kishida reaffirmed the countryโs commitment to foster the Web3 industry, highlighting its potential to transform the internet and kindle social change.ย
Kishida made the comments in a keynote address on day one of the WebX conference in Tokyo, Japan as initially reported by local media outlet CoinPost. On the same day, Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao announced the cryptocurrency exchange would launch its services on a new Japanese platform in August 2023.
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida addresses at #webx
โWeb3 is part of the New Form of Capitalismโ pic.twitter.com/Q3XFFQIRzb
โ WebX 2023 (July 25-26) (@WebX_Asia) July 25, 2023
Kishida highlighted Web3โs potential to drive innovation across industries and highlighted the eventโs role in bringing industry players to Japan to drive collaboration:
โI hope that the Web3 industry will regain its attention and vitality, and that various new projects will be born.โ
EOS Foundation CEO Yves La Rose watched on from the crowd during Kishidaโs address and tweeted that the prime ministerโs words signal a welcoming attitude towards Web3 that is being fostered in Asia:
Here live at @WebX_Asia and @JPN_PMO Fumio Kishida just stated that Web3 is โthe new form of capitalismโ.
While the West continues to antagonize blockchain companies, Asia is welcoming us in with their arms wide open.
In Asia, the future is bright for crypto! pic.twitter.com/eZ9puYdzoR
โ Yves La Rose (@BigBeardSamurai) July 25, 2023
Kishida went on to describe the Web3 sector as โthe new form of capitalismโ and hailed its the movementโs potential to drive growth through the โresolution of social issuesโ.
The opening speech given by Koichi Hagiuda, Japanโs Liberal Democratic partyโs Policy Research Council chairman, noted Japanโs efforts to establish a strict regulatory framework aimed at protecting investors that form the basis of further promotional Web3 policies.
Hagiuda also highlighted projects like the โStart Next Innovatorโ as key in driving the growth of Japanese-owned Web3 businesses. Japanโs Economy, Trade and Industry ministry project is sending 1,000 entrepreneurs and students to Silicon Valley over a five year campaign to foster Web3 startups.
Binance begins life in Japan
Asย reportedย by BNNBloomberg, Binance is set to offer its services to Japanese cryptocurrency users from August onwards. The company acquired local exchange platform Sakura Exchange Bitcoin (SEBC) in November 2022.
As the exchange outlined at the announcement of the deal, the 100% acquisition of the Japanese-registered crypto exchange service provider paved the way for Binanceโs reentry into the country.
Related:ย Japanese and Singaporean regulators join forces on crypto pilot project
June 2023 saw a flurry of headlines involving Japan and the Web3 sector. The national tax agency revised legislation which exempts token issuers in the country from paying corporate taxes on unrealized cryptocurrency gains.ย
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