Japan is known for being a crypto-friendly country. However, the country has moved a step further and is now allowing political donations in cryptocurrencies. These will not be regulated, according to politician Ms. Sanae Takaichi.
Japan does not consider cryptocurrencies as legal tender, and any regulatory action on political donations will affect only stock and fiat currencies. Any political party can receive cryptocurrency donations, and these will not be investigated and under any special regulatory framework. In addition, there will be no requirement to disclose these holdings as part of the official campaign rules that require transparency on raising funds, sources, etc.
The caveat, however, is that once these cryptocurrencies are converted to fiat, regulations come into place immediately. So, a politician may be rich in crypto donations, but if he or she decides to convert for any purpose, then these funds fall under different regulatory framework – one that applies to fiat money.
Also, as reported by Bitcoinist, the entire cryptocurrency sector in Japan may become self-regulatory and define its own limits in terms of trading volume. Just last month, the FSA awarded a mandate to the Japan Virtual Currency Exchange Association to come up with specific rules for self-regulation.
To say that Japan is a safe heaven for cryptocurrencies is far from accurate, however. Japan is one of the risky countries that has multiple crypto requirements for companies and exchanges to comply with. This is why Binance left Japan and moved to Malta, instead.