Japan | News

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.

Punjab Information Minister Azma Bokhari has strongly condemned a social media campaign targeting Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz’s official visit to Japan, terming it an attack on Pakistan-Japan diplomatic relations.

Japan’s Finance Minister Katsunobu Kato said crypto deserves a spot in portfolios, while pledging to build a sound trading environment for the sector. Japan’s Finance Minister Katsunobu Kato recognized that cryptocurrencies deserve a place in diversified investment portfolios. According to a Monday Bloomberg Japan report, Kato acknowledged the role of cryptocurrencies in a diversified investment portfolio during a speech. He was addressing the public from the stage during his keynote at Web3 Conference WebX 2025 in Tokyo. “While crypto assets carry the risk of high volatility, by establishing a proper investment environment, they can become an option for diversified investment,” Kato said. Read more

Ripple, a leader in enterprise blockchain, has partnered with SBI Holdings and its subsidiary SBI VC Trade Co., Ltd. to distribute Ripple USD (RLUSD) in Japan. The post Ripple, SBI Group to Roll Out RLUSD in Japan appeared first on Cryptonews.

SBI partners with Circle, Ripple and Startale to launch stablecoin ventures and a tokenized asset trading platform in Japan. Japanese financial conglomerate SBI inked new blockchain partnerships with USDC issuer Circle, XRP developer Ripple and the Web3 company Startale. SBI Group announced the three separate partnerships on Friday, including stablecoin-related collaborations with US companies Circle and Ripple, and a new tokenization project with Singapore-based Startale. In cooperation with Startale, SBI plans to build an onchain trading platform for tokenized stocks and real-world assets (RWAs) to enable 24/7 trading. Read more

A Japanese city will urge all smartphone users to limit screen time to two hours a day outside work or school under a proposed ordinance that includes no penalties. The limit — which will be recommended for all residents in central Japan’s Toyoake City — will not be binding and there will be no penalties incurred for higher usage, according to the draft ordinance. The proposal aims “to prevent excessive use of devices causing physical and mental health issues… including sleep problems”, mayor Masafumi Koki said in a statement on Friday. The draft urges elementary school students to avoid smartphones after 9:00pm, and junior high students and older are advised not to use them after 10:00pm. The move prompted an online backlash, with many calling the plan unrealistic. “I understand their intention, but the two-hour limit is impossible,” one user wrote on social media platform X. “In two hours, I cannot even read a book or watch a movie (on my smartphone),” wrote another. Others said smartphone use should be a d...

The two plan to roll out a U.S. dollar stablecoin in Japan under new rules that open the market to foreign issuers.

SBI VC Trade, a licensed Electronic Payment Instruments Exchange Service Provider, said it expects RLUSD to go live in Japan during the first quarter of 2026.