Japan to Invest in Metaverse and NFT Expansion

Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said in a policy speech on Monday that the country’s plans for investing in digital transformation include non-fungible tokens (NFT) and metaverse services.

The country has steadily been promoting investment in digital technology, including through tax incentives for companies that embrace a digital future. In his speech to Japan’s parliament, Kishida said the country will continue to focus on “supporting the social implementation of digital technology” and will “promote efforts to expand the use of Web3 services that utilize the metaverse and NFTs.”

Japan’s federal foray into Web3 follows a trend of officials taking strides to implement Web3-related services in the country – rather than following the typical bureaucratic route that policies must often travel through. Kishida’s administration recently established a Web3 policy office under the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI), which is focused on creating policies for the country’s gradual blockchain expansion.

In April, a task force launched by Kishida’s Liberal Democratic Party and led by politician Akihisa Shiozaki released an “NFT White Paper,” which called Web3 the “the new frontier of the digital economy” and outlined plans to advance the national strategy on Web3.

METI is also reportedly looking into a proposal to offer tax exemptions to Japanese crypto companies in order to entice them to keep their business in the country and further fuel the nation’s growing Web3 industry.