Japan PM reaffirms Web3 plans as Binance announces imminent launch

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida reiterated the country’s commitment to nurturing the Web3 industry, emphasizing its potential to transform the internet and spark social change.

Kishida made the comments during his keynote address on the first day of the WebX conference in Tokyo, Japan report Reported by local media CoinPost. On the same day, Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao announced that the cryptocurrency exchange will launch services on a new Japanese platform in August 2023.

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida delivered a speech at the meeting #webx

“Web3 is part of a new form of capitalism” pic.twitter.com/Q3XFFQIRzb

— WebX 2023 (July 25-26) (@WebX_Asia) July 25, 2023

Kishida highlighted the potential of Web3 to drive innovation across industries, and highlighted the event’s role in bringing industry players to Japan to drive collaboration:

“I hope that the Web3 industry will regain attention and vitality, and various new projects will be born.”

EOS Foundation CEO Yves La Rose was in the crowd to watch Kishida’s speech. He tweeted that the prime minister’s words signaled a welcome attitude towards the Web3 being nurtured in Asia:

live here @WebX_Asia and @JPN_PMO Fumio Kishida just said that Web3 is “a new form of capitalism”.

While the West continues to fight against blockchain companies, Asia welcomes us with open arms.

In Asia, the future of cryptocurrencies is bright! pic.twitter.com/eZ9puYdzoR

— Yves La Rose (@BigBeardSamurai) July 25, 2023

Kishida went on to describe the Web3 space as “a new form of capitalism” and praised the movement’s potential to drive growth by “solving social issues.”

Hagiuda Koichi, chairman of the Liberal Democratic Party Policy Research Association of Japan, pointed out in his opening speech that Japan is working hard to establish a strict regulatory framework aimed at protecting investors and laying the foundation for further promotion of Web3 policies.

Related: Japanese and Singaporean Regulators Join Forces on Cryptocurrency Pilot Program

Hagiuda also highlighted projects such as the “Start Next Innovator” as key to driving Web3 business growth in Japan. A METI project will send 1,000 entrepreneurs and students to Silicon Valley for a five-year program to incubate Web3 startups.

Binance starts operations in Japan

Binance confirmed to Cointelegraph that it will offer services to Japanese cryptocurrency users starting in August. The company acquired local trading platform Sakura Exchange Bitcoin (SEBC) in November 2022.

As outlined in the exchange announcement In this transaction, 100% acquisition of this cryptocurrency trading service provider registered in Japan paved the way for Binance to return to Japan.

Binance CEO “CZ” also made a virtual appearance on WebX, delivered a keynote speech, praised Japan’s innovation-friendly attitude towards the industry, and called the country “a leader in the Web3 regulatory environment.”

OMG! Surprise video message from cz at Binance Conference

thanks for the great news @cz_binance #WebX pic.twitter.com/P6lrcTCLAS

— kinjo – @illshin.eth (@illshin) July 25, 2023

The Binance CEO reflected on living in Japan early in his career as a developer, while highlighting the country’s clear boundaries for the industry that have existed for over five years:

“Japan has been clear on cryptocurrency trading regulations since 2017, and this year passed a cryptocurrency listing framework and stablecoin regulations.”

June 2023 saw a flurry of headlines involving Japan and the Web3 space.national tax authority Revised legislation exempting token issuers in the country from paying corporate tax on unrealized cryptocurrency gains.