The Japanese government officially responded to Senator Hamada, stating that it has no plans to adopt Bitcoin into its foreign exchange reserves due to a lack of understanding and concerns over volatility.
As reported According to Japanese media, the government of Japan published its official report on December 20 answer to several questions Senator Satoshi Hamada put forward regarding the adoption of Bitcoin (BTC) in Japan’s foreign exchange reserves. Under the name of Prime Minister Ishiba Shigeru, the statement explains that at present, Japan has no plans to consider cryptocurrency reserves.
Senator Hamada, a member of the NHK People’s Protection Party, proposed that Japan follow the example of the United States and other countries exploring BTC reserves. The government responded that it did not have enough knowledge about global movements in this regard and said that discussions on the adoption of cryptocurrencies for reserves were at a very preliminary stage. In other words, the government said it would be “difficult to express an opinion” at this stage.
The response also mentions that under Japan’s legal system for handling special accounts, cryptocurrencies such as BTC do not fall under the category of foreign exchange assets. Additionally, a “cryptographic asset” is not considered a “security” within the meaning of the Financial Instruments and Foreign Exchange Act of Japan.
The Payment Services Act provides the definition of “crypto assets” and requires any crypto asset exchange service (CAES) provider to register with the Financial Services Agency. Operating a CAES without registration carries criminal penalties, says Anderson Mori & Tomotsune, a full-service law firm in Japan.
Current foreign exchange reserves are intended to stabilize foreign currency assets and bond markets, and the Japanese government has highlighted the volatility of crypto assets as it wants to prioritize security and liquidity.
Meanwhile, Japanese investment bank CEO Akihiko Ogino suggested that Japan should introduce cryptocurrency exchange-traded funds. Although Daiwa Securities, which runs the Nikkei 225 ETF, has yet to disclose any crypto-backed ETF plans, Japan’s current outlook for crypto assets could delay Daiwa’s ETF plans Securities.
