Entertainment giant Sony Group is the latest Japanese company to join the quest to leverage blockchain technology, according to Odaily Planet Daily. Sony released the L2 network Soneium last month, hoping that developers will use it to develop applications to enhance the company's products.
Other Japanese companies exploring blockchain include Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corp., Toyota Motor Corp. and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc. Mitsubishi UFJ is considering issuing a stablecoin.
The Japanese government faces the challenge of whether to reduce onerous rules to reduce costs and stimulate growth. Prime Minister Fumio Kishida supports Web3, but his term is coming to an end and future policies are uncertain.
Angela Ang of blockchain intelligence firm TRM Labs said it would take time for regulators to adjust to new business models, but Japanese officials’ increasingly innovative policy tendencies helped explain companies such as Sony’s experimentation with digital ledgers.
Japan introduced stablecoin rules and developed a framework for cryptocurrency trading in 2023. Singaporean cryptocurrency lender Amber Group sold its digital asset trading platform in Japan to a Sony subsidiary last year.
