Japan Considers Expanding Web3 Services, Including NFTs, Metaverse

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said his government is working on expanding the use of web3 services, including those which are related to the metaverse and non-fungible tokens (NFTs).

Delivering a speech on Monday before the National Diet of Japan, Kishida pointed to the Japanese government’s investments in digital transformation, citing the issuance of NFTs to the local authorities, according to Cointelegraph.

The Japanese prime minister also referred to plans to digitize national identity cards.

It is worth mentioning that the Japanese government issued NFTs as a form of supplementary rewards in recognition of the work of local authorities who managed to solve problems using digital technology. A total of seven mayors in Japan got NFT awards for various initiatives.

Over the past months, Japan took major steps to regulate the crypto market. The parliament passed a law to limit the issuance of stablecoins by non-bank institutions in June.

In July, Japan opened a Web3 policy office which is affiliated with the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) to formulate metaverse-related policies to enhance the Web3 business environment.

Japan is among the top-five worst countries for crypto taxation as crypto investors could pay a maximum of 55% tax on crypto under income tax, however, in August, the Japanese Financial Services Agency considered cutting these taxes from 55% to 20%.

Web3 is a new digital cosmos built on decentralized or distributed notions such as blockchain and token-based economics. Web3 has the potential to remove intermediaries such as Google or Apple and give its users complete control over the internet. The concept guarantees freedom and authority that is very much decentralized.