Japan | News

SBI Ripple uses XRP Ledger for Japan tourism payments. Stablecoin payments go live in Singapore. Asia Express SBI Ripple Asia has partnered with Japanese travel agency Tobu Top Tours to develop tokens and payment systems on the XRP Ledger. Under the memorandum of understanding, SBI Ripple Asia will issue tokens on the XRP Ledger for use in a system that enables customers to pay for experiences such as accommodation, dining and shopping. Tobu Top Tours will be responsible for partner acquisition and marketing initiatives based on non-fungible tokens. As the name of SBI Ripples new partner suggests, the payment system is expected to be applied in Japans booming tourism industry. SBI Ripple Asia also plans to expand use cases beyond tourism to include disaster relief support, economic revitalization projects and pop culture. It aims to launch in the first half of 2026. Read more

Japan en Nederland delen hun waterstofambities, maar de markt heeft minder vertrouwen in de toekomst van duurzame energie. 

Chainalysis APAC policy lead Chengyi Ong says favorable policy and taxes helped boost crypto in Japan, while stablecoins were popular across the Asia Pacific. Japan’s recent policy shifts have helped the country more than double its crypto adoption over the past year, according to crypto analytics company Chainalysis. Among the top five markets in the Asia Pacific (APAC) region, Japan saw the strongest growth, with its value received onchain growing 120% year-on-year in the 12 months to June, according to an excerpt from Chainalysis’ 2025 Geography of Cryptocurrency Report released on Wednesday. Chainalysis’ head of APAC policy, Chengyi Ong, told Cointelegraph that activity in Japan “reflects some of the trends that we saw in the global market, a sharp pickup in trading volumes in the fourth quarter of 2024 on the back of the US presidential election, followed by a tapering.” Read more

Japan’s financial markets are sending out a warning siren, not just for Tokyo, but for the rest of the world. The Bank of Japan (BOJ), once famous for almost endless money printing, is taking the first steps toward unwinding its massive interventions. In short, Japan’s debt dilemma is coming to a head. This week, the […] The post Crisis crossroads: Japan’s debt reckoning and the global economic warning appeared first on CryptoSlate.

Japan’s Metaplanet launched subsidiaries in Miami and Tokyo to grow Bitcoin income and expand domestic crypto media operations. Metaplanet, the Japanese hospitality and real estate group turned Bitcoin treasury company, is ramping up its crypto strategy with the launch of two new subsidiaries, one in the US and one in Japan. In a Wednesday post on X, the Tokyo-based firm announced the establishment of Metaplanet Income Corp., a wholly owned US subsidiary based in Miami with an initial capital of $15 million, according to its disclosure. The unit will focus on Bitcoin (BTC) income generation and derivatives trading, creating a structural separation between Metaplanet’s core BTC holdings and revenue-generating operations. Read more

SBI Shinsei Bank, DeCurret and Partior will develop a blockchain-based settlement system for tokenized deposits in Japanese yen and other major currencies. Japan’s SBI Shinsei Bank has partnered with Singapore-based Partior and Japan’s DeCurret DCP to explore multicurrency tokenized deposits for cross-border transactions. The three signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Tuesday, aiming to develop a blockchain-based settlement framework that supports real-time clearing in multiple currencies, according to an announcement. DeCurret currently operates the DCJPY platform, which allows banks in Japan to issue yen-denominated tokenized deposits. SBI Shinsei plans to expand beyond the Japanese yen, aiming to issue tokenized deposits in other major currencies to meet the growing demand for faster international payments. Read more

Japan is deploying eight aircraft, including four F-15 fighter jets, to bases in the United States, Canada and Europe.

The move Monday comes as the U.S. and Japan increase their deterrence against China's growing assertiveness in the region.

Japan can contribute to future security guarantees for Ukraine, which is why Kyiv should strengthen its diplomacy with Tokyo after the election of a new prime minister.

Standard Chartered-backed Zodia Custody has exited its Japan venture with SBI Holdings after two years, with both firms calling the move a strategic realignment. Zodia Custody, the digital asset custody firm backed by Standard Chartered, has dissolved its joint venture with Japan’s SBI Holdings two years after launching the initiative. The venture, known as SBI Zodia Custody, was 51% owned by SBI and 49% by Zodia Custody. According to its website, the project aimed to replicate institutional-grade custodial services in the digital asset space. “This is a strategic alignment between SBI and ourselves as a mutual decision that we have other priorities and they have other priorities,” Julian Sawyer, CEO at Zodia Custody, reportedly told Bloomberg. Read more

Zuid-Korea en Japan zoeken elkaar op in een steeds onrustigere regio. De relatie is nog broos, maar diepere samenwerking lijkt aanstaande.

Pensioner Shizue Kato didn’t fancy the new “Demon Slayer” anime blockbuster and instead watched “Kokuho”, a rare live-action cinema hit in Japan, where animation rules. “Many of our friends already watched the film, and they were amazed we hadn’t yet,” Kato told AFP as she emerged from a Tokyo cinema on a recent weekday. “I read the original novel,” her husband Kuni said. Lasting almost three hours, “Kokuho” is about two “onnagata”, male players of female roles in kabuki, a rarefied form of classical Japanese theatre. Lee Sang-il’s film, shot by Tunisian cinematographer Sofian El Fan, follows the friendship and rivalry of the son of a slain yakuza gangster and a boy born into a kabuki family. The plot is gripping but markedly more sedate than this summer’s other hit, the second movie from the “Demon Slayer” anime and manga mega-franchise. That dark fantasy, the first of a trilogy, is about sword-swishing Tanjiro Kamado’s final showdown to slay demons and make his sister human again in a kaleidoscopic castle. ...

Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba resigned on Sunday, ushering in a potentially lengthy period of policy uncertainty at a shaky moment for the world’s fourth-largest economy. Having just ironed out final details of a trade deal with the United States to lower President Donald Trump’s punishing tariffs, Ishiba, 68, told a press conference he must take responsibility for a series of bruising election losses. Since coming to power less than a year ago, the unlikely premier has overseen his ruling coalition lose its majorities in elections for both houses of parliament amid voter anger over rising living costs. He instructed his Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) — which has ruled Japan for almost all of the post-war period — to hold an emergency leadership race, adding he would continue his duties until his successor was elected. “With Japan having signed the trade agreement and the president having signed the executive order, we have passed a key hurdle,” Ishiba said, his voice seeming to catch with emotion. “...

With Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba announcing his resignation, attention turns to who will next steer the world’s fourth-largest economy. The process to pick Japan’s next leader is more complicated than before, as Ishiba’s Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), which has ruled Japan for most of the post-war period, and its junior coalition partner lost their majorities in both houses of parliament during his tenure. Party leadership race First, the LDP must pick a new president to replace Ishiba. The date has not been set yet. In the last party leadership race in September 2024, candidates needed to secure 20 nominations from the party’s lawmakers to be eligible to run. Candidates will embark on a period of debates and campaigns across Japan, culminating in a vote by lawmakers and rank-and-file party members. In the last race, there were nine contenders, and Ishiba won in a run-off. LDP vote Based on the last leadership race, each lawmaker has a vote with an equal number distributed among the rank-and-file ...

Japan’s Financial Services Agency proposed moving crypto oversight from the Payment Services Act to the stricter Financial Instruments and Exchange Act. Japan’s Financial Services Agency (FSA) presented a proposal that would significantly tighten crypto regulation. A Tuesday FSA report recommends regulating cryptocurrencies under the Financial Instruments and Exchange Act (FIEA), moving them from under the Payment Services Act. This aims to strengthen investor protection and align crypto oversight with securities regulation. The regulator said that many issues within crypto resemble those traditionally addressed under the FIEA, so it may be appropriate to apply similar mechanisms and enforcement. Read more

Japan readies its first yen-backed stablecoin, signaling a shift from regulatory caution to active participation in digital finance. Japan was the first country to establish a regulatory framework for stablecoins. Yet, until now, it has taken a seemingly passive role in the technology, with no blockchain-based representation of its national currency, the yen. That may soon change.  After years of quiet infrastructure development, Japan is preparing to launch its first fully collateralized, yen-backed stablecoin later this year. Takashi Tezuka, Japan’s country manager at Web3 infrastructure provider Startale Group, told Cointelegraph that the gap between Japan and the United States on stablecoins reflects a deeper philosophical difference. Read more

“Japan prizes systemic stability above innovation speed, while the US is signaling a bigger market-opening play,” said Startale Group’s Takashi Tezuka. While the US GENIUS Act is being celebrated as a market catalyst for stablecoin adoption, Japan’s earlier reforms show the flip side: Clarity doesn’t automatically translate into immediate real-world utility.  Japan had the world’s first comprehensive stablecoin regime in 2023, but adoption has been muted. Licensed issuers exist on paper, yet there’s no thriving yen-stablecoin economy. In an interview with Cointelegraph, Takashi Tezuka, country manager at Web3 infrastructure developer Startale Group, said the adoption gap between the US and Japan reflects a philosophical difference in regulatory design. Read more

Tokyo-based Monex Group is weighing the launch of a yen-pegged stablecoin, with its chairman, Oki Matsumoto, citing the need to keep pace in digital finance. Tokyo-based publicly traded financial services company Monex Group is considering a Japanese yen-pegged stablecoin. According to a Tuesday TV Tokyo report, Monex Group Chairman Oki Matsumoto told the outlet that the company is considering issuing a yen-pegged stablecoin in Japan. “Issuing stablecoins requires significant infrastructure and capital, but if we don’t handle them, we’ll be left behind,” Masumoto said. He concluded: Read more

LAHORE: The Punjab government and opposition Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) have been wrangling over “exorbitant spendings, chartered jet and private persons in the delegation” of Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz’s Japan’s five-day tour. Ms Nawaz concluded her Japan visit on Monday and reached Thailand. Questions are also being raised on social media regarding CM Maryam’s ‘official visit’ to Japan, in which ‘private individuals’, including her family members, as also a part. It is being argued that even if such participants claim to bear their own expenses, the practice undermines the sanctity of official delegations and blurs the line between state affairs and personal interests. Questions are also being raised on social media platforms over the inclusion of private persons as part of her visit, causing a huge sum of money to the exchequer. Entourage comes under scrutiny; PTI’s Waqas claims bank borrowing spent on excursion; Azma says PTI will consume in its own frustration Punjab Information Minister Azma Bokhar...

Bitcoin holds $110K as Japan embraces crypto, CBDC fears grow, and Webull expands U.S. trading. What’s next for BTC prices? The post Bitcoin Price Prediction: BTC Holds $110K as Japan, CBDC Debate, and Webull Fuel Momentum appeared first on Cryptonews.