What is the current status of Bitcoin and blockchain development in Japan?

Takao Asayama, CEO of Japanese bitcoin exchange Zaif and founder of blockchain technology service company Mijin, accepted an interview with Cointelegraph and talked in detail about the development of bitcoin blockchain in Japan and the obstacles to the development of this technology in Japan.

Today, there are two forces in Japan’s Bitcoin and blockchain market: the Japan Digital Asset Agency (JADA) and a group of independent companies, including Zaif, BitBank and BTC-Box. Both forces are trying to communicate with the government and the Financial Supervisory Agency (FSA) in their own way.

CoinTelegraph (CT): What are the main problems in the development of Bitcoin and blockchain technology in Japan?

Takao Asayama (TA):

Banks still view Bitcoin as a scam because some criminals [CoinCheck] used Bitcoin to launder money. That was last April. Since then, banks have become skeptical and cautious about Bitcoin and stopped opening accounts for Bitcoin-related businesses.

Only five companies are allowed to continue operating Bitcoin trading platforms. These five are also the only companies approved by the FSA. Considering the current situation, no new Bitcoin companies will enter the market in the next 18 months. It will take time to change this situation. This is the overall situation of Bitcoin business development in Japan.

CT: Will Japanese banks adopt blockchain technology? What are the prospects?

TA:

Currently, Mixun is the largest private blockchain platform in Japan. We announced this project to the public last September, but it did not attract the attention of banks.

Japan currently has no projects related to Bitcoin blockchain technology, because Japan is a relatively conservative country, and the government may be the most conservative government in the world. Therefore, banks have not imagined using distributed ledger technology such as blockchain.

I have also talked to banks about this technology, but they seem to be waiting to see who will adopt this technology first. Finally, at the end of last year, Sumishin SBI Internet Bank officially announced that it would test blockchain technology. Japanese banks have begun to observe the blockchain market.

But despite this, most people still lack trust in Bitcoin. Until now, news about Bitcoin is still negative. Especially the Mt. Gox CEO's arrest in Tokyo and a series of subsequent events reported by major Japanese media.

Fortunately, people have a positive view on blockchain technology and trust it. I have talked to several Japanese listed companies about testing blockchain technology and they are all interested. I am very happy to be a part of promoting the positive development of Bitcoin and blockchain technology in Japan.

CT: Are there any foreign companies currently interested in the Japanese market? Are there any foreign companies interested in entering the Japanese Bitcoin and blockchain market? Conversely, do Japanese companies want to enter the European and American markets?

TA:

It is very difficult for foreign companies to enter the Japanese market. As I said before, we are a very conservative country. It is very difficult to do business with Japanese companies, and it is even more difficult to sign a contract, unless your company is very large, like Google. Otherwise, Japanese companies will not listen to you at all.

As for Japanese companies entering foreign markets, Mixun may consider going beyond Japan and entering foreign markets. We plan to promote it in February. At present, there are no other related projects except Mixun.

CT: How many companies in the traditional field are currently paying attention to blockchain technology? In addition to banks, are there other traditional companies that want to enter the blockchain market?

TA:

This is a difficult question to answer because they have just started to hear the word "blockchain" and before they only knew "bitcoin". Of course, there are some visionaries and banks who know that blockchain technology can be used as their own private ledger system.

Japan has very strict financial regulatory rules. It is very difficult to modify or change these rules. In fact, there are quite a lot of electronic money companies in Japan. Many of them are trying to adopt blockchain technology, hoping to get ahead of banks. Due to banking regulations, it is unlikely that banks will be able to use blockchain technology freely within two years.

CT: Which technology do you think will lead the development of the digital currency field in 2016? Which blockchain-based services will be the most profitable in 2016?

TA:

Mixun is launching products based on blockchain technology in April this year. We have developed a free blockchain service, and several banks are already using our service.

In 2016, Japanese electronic money companies will start to cooperate with blockchain platforms, and I think blockchain technology will enter the verification service, smart contract or logistics market. I think the application of blockchain in the logistics market will grow in 2016.

As for profit, I think it should be the remittance market. I don’t know who will be the leader in this market. Swift has also started to experiment with blockchain technology. It seems that the competition in this market will be very fierce, and it will also be a large market.

Original article: http://cointelegraph.com/news/116029/takao-asayama-japanese-people-thought-bitcoin-was-evil
By Lana Smiley
Translator: Bibit
Editor: printemps
Source (translation): Babbitt Information (http://www.8btc.com/blockchain-in-japan)