Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida announced that accelerating NFT and Metaverse investment is major part of government’s digital transformation plans
Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has reiterated his government’s plans to invest in Web 3.0 technology. in that “state of the Union” Addressing this week ahead of Japan’s National Diet, Kishida said expanding the use of Web 3.0 services that use the metaverse and non-fungible token (NFT) innovations are part of the government’s plans for digital transformation.
The prime minister also highlighted in the policy speech that Japan is already implementing several initiatives in this direction — including issuing NFTs to local authorities that are using digital technology to solve challenges in their jurisdictions. He said:
We will focus on supporting the social implementation of digital technology. We will also promote efforts to expand the use of the Metaverse and Web 3.0 services that use NFTs.
The Japanese government took its first steps to promote Web 3.0 technology back in July when it established the Web 3.0 Policy Office under the Ministry of Economy Trade and Industry (METI) minister’s secretariat. The office will bring together all government departments responsible for making and enforcing policies related to the nascent metaverse technology.
Japan is also opening up to the crypto market
Meanwhile, Japan is also proposing changes to many of its restrictive crypto regulations. last month, U.Today reported That under the direction of PM Fumio Kishida, Japan’s financial regulator, the FAS, proposed a temporary easing of corporate and retail tax rules for crypto assets.
The changing regulatory climate has been attracting more crypto firms to the country. U.S.-based blockchain company Ripple (XRP) recently announced a partnership with design company “btrax” that will see the two companies collaborate to build a Web 3.0 design lab centered on XRP Ledger. The platform is intended to assist Japanese companies with Web3 business development.
