JAKARTA - Fumio Kishida, Japan's Prime Minister, has supported blockchain technology as a potential solution to the technological problems facing the country.

Responding to a question from a member of the Liberal Democratic Party, Masaaki Taira, before the Japan House of Representatives Budget Committee on February 1, Kishida said there were "various possibilities to use Web3" in Japan.

He added that the Japanese government could use various aspects including nonfungible tokens (NFT) and decentralized autonomous organizations (DAO) in an effort to revitalize territory and promote 'cool Japan', a national strategy aimed at exhibiting innovation and culture of the country worldwide.

"If you consider DAO, people interested in the same social issues can form a new community," Kishida said, as quoted by Cointelegraph. NFT can also be used to diversify creator income and maintain very loyal fans.

Taira leads the government's task force for Web3 policy. He pointed to coordination with tax authorities in Japan as well as research to release digital yen, where the country's central bank announced in November it plans to start a pilot program for digital currencies starting spring 2023.

"In my opinion, this type of blockchain technology and technology that uses Web3 are effective in solving various problems that we have," said Taira.

Since taking office in October 2021, Kishida has occasionally spoken of the Japanese government's intention to invest in Web3 services as part of the country's digital transformation. In September, his cabinet allowed the issuance of NFT as a reward for regional authorities using digital technology to solve problems.

Japan's Deputy Director-General of the Financial Services Agency's Strategy Development and Management Bureau has called for stricter rules on cryptocurrencies similar to those in banks. In the middle of the central crypto market, exchanges including Coinbase and Kraken have closed operations in Japan, while a local subsidiary of the bankrupt FTX company has until March 9 to suspend businesses.


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