Kenji Fujimaki, advocate of virtual currency tax reform, elected early from Japan Restoration Party in House of Councilors proportional vote

Mr. Fujimaki was elected early.

Following the death of a member of the House of Councilors who belonged to the Japan Restoration Party, former House of Councilors member Takeshi Fujimaki, who was the runner-up on the party’s list in the proportional representation election for the House of Councilors in 2019, has been elected. This decision will be announced in the Official Gazette on January 19th and will take official effect.

Mr. Fujimaki, 73, worked as the Tokyo branch manager of a foreign financial institution and was first elected in the 2013 House of Councilors election.In the 2019 election, he ran unsuccessfully as a proportional representative candidate for the Japan Restoration Party. Ta.

Mr. Fujimaki emphasized the importance of blockchain and crypto assets (virtual currency) as elements contributing to Japan’s future growth. He believed that these technologies would bring new vitality to Japan’s economy and be the key to attracting capital and talent from around the world.

In his election speech at the time, Fujimaki argued that changes to the virtual currency tax system would create a future source of income for Japan, and also mentioned the introduction of virtual currency ETFs (exchange traded funds). According to him, if virtual currency ETFs are approved, virtual currencies will be subject to a 20% withholding tax, which could greatly contribute to the development of the virtual currency market.

On January 11, 2024, the first Bitcoin spot ETF in history was approved in the United States.

connection:All 11 Bitcoin ETFs listed, SEC approved for first spot ETF in US history

Mr. Fujimaki’s vision and current digital currency regulations

In recent years, the decentralized internet including blockchain, virtual currency, NFT, etc. has been defined as “Web3”, and in Japan, the ruling Liberal Democratic Party has positioned this as part of the national strategy for a new era, and has developed AI (artificial intelligence) and Web3. A promotion team has been established for each.

In line with this movement, regulations have been put in place one after another, including the issuance of stablecoins by banks and the conditions for exemption from year-end tax on the issuance and holding of governance tokens by corporations.

New regulations regarding stablecoin issuance that came into effect in June 2023 are attracting particular interest from the financial industry, with an eye toward new business opportunities in consumer-to-consumer (CtoC) and business-to-business (BtoB) payment transactions. This regulation has created a situation where major financial institutions such as Mitsubishi UFJ Trust and Banking, Mizuho Trust and Banking, Minna no Bank, and Orix Bank are each promoting their own stablecoin-related projects.

Furthermore, when FTX.com went bankrupt in November 2022, the Financial Services Agency quickly issued business suspension orders to domestic platforms licensed in Japan and worked hard to protect customer assets. Such responses have once again emphasized the reputation of Japan’s virtual currency regulatory system as internationally advanced.

connection:Representative Fujimaki calls for virtual currency tax reform and the realization of a Bitcoin ETF in an election speech in front of the Financial Services Agency

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