Japan Business Federation proposes Web3 development plan

The Japan Business Federation, one of the country’s three largest business associations, has proposed its vision for making Japan an ideal and advanced Web3 economy. 

In a report entitled “Web3 advancement strategy” and released on November 15, the federation suggested that Japan should create a business environment and infrastructure, including the legal system, for Web3-related business.

The country should strive to set global leading standards for Web3 in terms of both technology and systems that individuals and companies in other countries will adopt. In the long term, the use of Web3 should contribute to Japan’s sustainable development goals, the federation, also known as Keidanren in Japanese, said. 

Keidanren, which has more than 1,300 enterprises and companies as members, said these goals must be achieved by the end of 2025, and as immediate steps towards reaching them, Japan should promote the ownership, investment and distribution of tokens.

The report also touched on NFTs, decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs) and metaverse, saying “it is necessary to maximize the mutual benefits of each technological development” by steadily advancing discussions and environmental improvements in each field.

It identified NFTs as a tool to revitalize local communities and help creators of various content, such as animation, in which Japan has an edge. In addition to copyrights and users’ rights protection, it is necessary to clarify the legal status of crypto assets and NFTs, Keidanren said.

The Covid-19 pandemic has a significant impact on the digital world, in fields such as education, medicine and gaming, the federation noted. It is necessary to promote and support the development of various homegrown technologies, such as 3DCG, and to improve conditions for cross-platform cooperation in the metaverse platforms.

In particular, Japan should work with other countries on how to promote design rights, copyrights and secondary creations, as well as improve the handling of vast amounts of data, the federation said.