Japan's Orix and Shizuoka Banks recently began trialing blockchain technology

Rage Comment: Since entering 2016, news related to blockchain has been constantly appearing in Japan. Mitsubishi UFJ (MUFG) in Tokyo, Japan revealed that the bank is studying digital currency projects, and recently the financial services giant Mizuho announced that they are working with Microsoft Japan on a joint lending system trial project. Sony and SoftBank have also begun to fully join the blockchain war, and now a group of other banks and technology companies in Japan have begun to cooperate and start to try to use this technology for international fund exchange and transaction settlement.

Translation: Annie Xu

A group of Japanese banks and technology companies, including Orix, Shizuoka, NTT Data, and NTT DoCoMo Ventures, have launched an initiative to research blockchain technology.

The initiative shows that Japanese financial and technology companies are beginning to embrace and research blockchain technology.

NTT Data, a company specializing in IT consulting, will then work with digital currency startup Orb and other companies to research blockchain technology.

Orix and Shizuoka Bank plan to try using the technology for international money transfers and trade settlements. Orix is ​​a consumer financial services company founded in 1960, while Shizuoka is a regional financial institution founded in 1940.

NTT DoCoMo Ventures, the investment company of mobile network operator NTT DoCoMo, will serve as an intermediary for the companies.

The above companies further stated:

They also plan to apply the technology to other industries besides finance.

We plan to work with partners from different fields to study the application of blockchain technology in finance and other industries.

Big changes in Japan

The announcement comes amid growing interest in blockchain technology among Japanese financial services firms.

Earlier this month, Mitsubishi UFJ (MUFG) in Tokyo, Japan, revealed that it was researching a digital currency project within the bank, while recently financial services giant Mizuho announced that they were working with Microsoft Japan on a joint lending system trial project.

Investment firms have also made some moves. Regional financial company SBI Holdings recently invested in Bitcoin blockchain startups Kraken and Ripple through its investment company.