managed by Joi Ito
⚡ Finished first close of web3 fund focusing on Japan, gmjp.
Last update 2023-01-05
⚡️Just Posted - Liberal Democratic Party of Japan Headquarters for the Promotion of Digital Society web3 Project Team "Interim Proposal on web3 Policy" English Translation - supportive of web3 and well written. 📄
👉 web3 is central to the strategy of both the government and the society in Japan for the plan for the rejuvenation of the economy and society through supporting startups, reforms and experimentation in many areas, including local government.
Since Prime Minister Kishida took power, various committees in the government have been deliberating to develop a new plan for Japan. There were many initiatives created by the Cabinet Office, including the Council for the Realization of the Digital Rural City State Concept (デジタル田園都市国家構想実現会議), *Council for the Realization of New Capitalism (新しい資本主義実現会議)* and the Working Group on the State of Startup Development (スタートアップの育成の在り方に関するワーキンググループ) in the *Growth Strategy Council (成長戦略会議).*
It became clear to some of us that web3 startups were a huge potential opportunity for Japan but that entrepreneurs and funds were being driven away by stringent regulations and a market that lagged in understanding and adoption.
Soon, some politicians in the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), the ruling party of Japan, began to realize that web3 made sense as a “new capitalism,” a “growth strategy,” a focus for startups and with DAOs, possibly even something to support “digital rural city-state” development. The Headquarters for the Promotion of a Digital Society (デジタル本部) of the LDP set up an NFT Project Team and, in May, published an excellent white paper 📄 with recommendations.
Liberal Democratic Party, Headquarters for the Promotion of a Digital Society, Project Team regarding NFT Policies (March 30, 2022, in Japanese/May 1, 2022, in English). NFT White Paper - Japan’s NFT Strategy for the Web 3.0 Era.
These recommendations were presented to the cabinet and the prime minister, who began publicly speaking about web3.
https://twitter.com/Joi/status/1524309636236836864
The LDP and most opposition parties included web3 in their campaign commitments during the summer House of Councillors. Since the elections, Prime Minister Kishida has continued to push web3.
https://twitter.com/konotaromp/status/1557314614156595201
https://twitter.com/itmedia_news/status/1575792587713425408?s=20&t=qQxL8w3mHT3vJaMBbpaGoQ
総務省｜Web3時代に向けたメタバース等の利活用に関する研究会｜Web3時代に向けたメタバース等の利活用に関する研究会
https://twitter.com/TAIRAMASAAKI/status/1554998568402165760?ref_src=twsrc^tfw|twcamp^tweetembed&ref_url=notion%3A%2F%2Fwww.notion.so%2Fjoiito%2Fweb3-in-Japan-1759097267da4666baf97d6506e86ad7
https://twitter.com/AkihisaShiozaki/status/1580003983053029376?s=20&t=NE2mKwXJqCoMkmWQg6mE5Q
https://twitter.com/Joi/status/1601706719453020161
Taro Kono was appointed as the Digital Minister in August 2022 and is now in charge of the Digital Agency.
The Digital Agency created a Web 3.0 Research Group, which I am on, and announced it on September 30, 2022. This group is tasked with coordinating the review of web3 regulatory changes across the various agencies and producing a report sometime this year or so.
We are working on creating a DAO for the study group. This will be the first Japanese central government-established DAO. (We should call it a CeDAO.)
The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) has created a web3 policy office. METI is working on the business side and some of the tax issues.
METI has created a study group for a “Research Project on Constructing Web-3.0-Era Creator Economies.”
The Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications (Soumsho) also has a web3 research group focusing on The Metaverse.
The study group inside the LDP Digital Headquarters, formerly the NFT Policy Study Project Team, has changed its name to the Web3 Project Team. They are working on a new set of recommendations after they kick off a new series of meetings and discussions.
The first meeting of the LDP web3PT kicked off on October 12, 2022. I presented with Masa Masujima. Here are my slides, and here are Masa Masujima’s slides.
Phase 1, the NFT PT, earlier this year was to understand what the government needed to do with a smaller group of digitally native politicians. This phase continues this effort but adds the task of helping to educate more politicians and bureaucrats and getting them on board with web3.
This group will produce a report after a series of hearings.
Yasutoshi Nishimura, the METI Minister, visited the Digital Garage Ebisu offices and our Crypto Cafe & Bar to have a discussion with companies working on web3 and Metaverse and also set up a wallet, minted an NFT and played a Metaverse game. We had substantive and thoughtful conversations on the future of web3 and deregulation and METI’s role. The Minister was supportive and understood the issues well.
The Japan Business Federation, Keidanren, has a web3 task force I am on. A report from the task has been posted (in Japanese).
The Japan Association of New Economy is also preparing a statement and a recommendation.
https://asia.nikkei.com/Business/Markets/Currencies/Top-Japan-banks-and-BOJ-to-begin-trials-of-digital-yen-next-year
I am tracking the regulatory changes many of us are asking for on this page.
The town of Shiwa in Iwate Prefecture has declared itself a Web3 town and is experimenting with DAOs and a variety of web3 tools on city projects.
The Bank of Japan has announced a CBDC trial in 2023 with major banks.