Japan's Liberal Democratic Party Establishes On-Chain Finance Working Group to Advance National-Level Blockchain Financial Strategy

Gate News reports that on March 24th, Japan’s Liberal Democratic Party established the “Next Generation AI and On-Chain Finance Vision Project Team,” founded by former Digital Minister Akira Hirabayashi. The team is led by Seiji Kihara, a former Ministry of Finance official and current chairman of the LDP Blockchain Promotion League. The initiative aims to develop a national AI-driven on-chain finance framework, marking Japan’s political recognition of blockchain finance as a key economic issue. In an interview, Hirabayashi stated that the integration of AI and blockchain will lead the financial industry within a few years, emphasizing, “This is not a matter for 5 to 10 years from now.” He noted that while Japan already has infrastructure such as the JPYC stablecoin, a joint stablecoin project by Mitsubishi UFJ, Sumitomo Mitsui, and Mizuho banks, and tokenized deposits at Japan Post Bank, there is a lack of a unified blueprint among these components. The project’s immediate goal is to release a white paper covering regulatory reforms related to trust law, deposit insurance, and KYC frameworks, incorporating the LDP’s growth strategy and government fiscal policy guidelines. They are also pressuring the Financial Services Agency and Ministry of Finance to accelerate regulatory action.