Japan’s financial regulator, the Financial Service Agency (FSA), has issued a business improvement order to Japanese investment firm and Zaif crypto exchange operator Fisco. According to Cointelegraph Japan, the FSA has identified shortcomings in Fisco’s internal control systems — such as anti-money laundering measures — and found it to be insufficiently compliant with local laws and regulations. As previously reported, Fisco assumed ownership of Japanese exchange Zaif in fall 2018, shortly after the platform was hacked to the tune of ~$59.7 million. The FSA’s action has reportedly been taken under the provisions of the country’s Act on Settlement of Funds. …

LVC Corporation, the digital asset- and blockchain-focused arm of Japanese messaging giant Line, is allegedly close to obtaining a crypto exchange operating license from Japan’s financial regulator. The news was reported by Cointelegraph Japan on June 20. According to the report, Japan’s Financial Services Agency (FSA) could issue the company with an exchange license as early as this month. The trading service, to be dubbed BitMax, would enable Line’s 80 million users in Japan to buy and sell multiple major cryptocurrencies, as well as Line’s native token Link, CT Japan notes. Per a press release recently shared with Cointelegraph, Line …

Global legislators have voiced their support for a forthcoming summit in Osaka, Japan, which will be devoted to virtual asset service providers’ (VASPs) response to a new set of recommendations set forward by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF). Cointelegraph Japan reported the news on June 19. According to the report, the V20 summit will take place alongside the G20 Leaders Summit in Osaka on June 28 and 29, and will convene G20 representatives, national blockchain associations, VASPs and legislators from numerous jurisdictions. Those in attendance will use the summit to explore the evolution of possible technical solutions and prospective …

Securitize — a compliance platform and protocol for token issuers backed by United States crypto exchange Coinbase — is partnering with the Japan Security Token Association (JSTA) to promote the creation of a security token ecosystem in Japan. The news was reported by Cointelegraph Japan on June 19. The JSTA is an advocacy organization focused on the digital securities industry. As Cointelegraph Japan reports, the new partners intend to closely collaborate with Japanese banks as well as local and international regulators in a bid to foster further development of the nascent industry. Their joint initiative will ostensibly aim to foster …

Japan’s Consumer Affairs Agency has reported that 2018 saw a 170% uptick in the number of consumer queries about cryptocurrencies as compared with the previous year. The news was reported by Cointelegraph Japan on June 18. The Consumer Affairs Agency (CAA) is an administrative agency of Japan’s Cabinet Office — the office responsible for the day-to-day affairs of the government’s executive branch (the Diet). The CAA submits its report on the consumer sector and matters of consumer protection to the Diet each year: last year’s is accessible in English, while this year’s remains to be translated. The CAA’s research indicates …

A data-sharing initiative involving one hundred of Japan’s biggest companies will use blockchain for its security, English-language news outlet Nikkei Asian Review reported on June 17. The project, which will commence in spring 2020, aims for participants to share production data in order to enhance overall efficiency. Its controller is the Industrial Value Chain Initiative, an industry organization formed four years ago by manufacturers interested in the Internet of Things (IoT). Among prospective participants are DMG Mori, Mitsubishi Electric and Yaskawa Electric. “Blockchain [...] is expected to lower the risk of data leaks compared with managing the information on servers, …

The personal computers of employees at hacked Japanese crypto exchange Coincheck have allegedly been found to have been infected by a virus associated with a hacker group of Russian origin. The allegation was reported by Cointelegraph Japan on June 16. As Cointelegraph has reported, in January 2018, Coincheck suffered an industry record-breaking hack when $534 million worth of NEM was stolen from its wallets. Cointelegraph Japan cites a report from Japanese media agency Asahi Shimbun, which claims that fresh research has cast doubt on prior assumptions that the high-profile hack had been perpetrated by attackers with a North Korean connection. …

It was a “natural” development. That is how Mike Kayamori, the CEO of Liquid described an exclusive deal with Gram Asia on public sales of Telegram Open Network (TON), a decentralized network being developed by privacy-focused messaging platform Telegram. Kayamori told Cointelegraph how Liquid came to agree with Gram Asia. He also claimed that Liquid was the pioneer of initial exchange offering (IEO) and explained which advantages Liquid has in the IEO market. “Everything is between Gram Asia and Liquid” The upcoming IEO at Liquid is a public sale of gram, which is the native token of TON. The Liquid …

The Japanese transportation industry is leading the country’s long-standing efforts to go cashless. Earlier this month, two major players from the archipelago’s e-commerce and transport industries partnered up to simplify and promote payments that do not require hard cash. Homegrown e-commerce giant Rakuten plans to incorporate its services into Japan’s premier railway firm, the East Japan Railway Company or JR East to provide electronic support for its “Suica” cards. The cards are used to access trains as well as to pay for goods and services at certain kiosks in train stations and select stores around the country. If all goes …

Adam Back, who invented the hashcash proof-of-work system and was one of the first people to work on bitcoin (BTC), spoke about the positive uses of blockchain at G20. Cointelegraph Japan reported on Back’s comments at a meeting of finance ministers and central bank governors in Japan on June 8. Sitting next to the governor of the Dutch central bank, Back said he believed blockchain was another move to open networking — and said financial institutions stand to benefit from the technology because it would mean international transfers no longer need to go through intermediary banks with questionable creditworthiness. When …

G20 finance ministers and central bank governors have asked the Financial Stability Board (FSB) and global standard-setting organizations to monitor risks around crypto assets. The request was made in a joint communiqué published on the website of Japan’s Ministry of Finance on June 9, following the G20 meeting held in Fukuoka, Japan. The leaders that cosigned the document state that they urge relevant institutions to give greater consideration to crypto assets and consider appropriate action: “We ask the FSB and standard setting bodies to monitor risks and consider work on additional multilateral responses as needed.” The joint statement also points …

One of the main themes to be discussed at the G-20 Financial Ministers and Central Governors Meeting this weekend has to do with money laundering and cryptocurrency. What kind of agreement would be a surprise? Even for the purpose of introducing Anti-Money Laundering (AML), should we allow our financial privacy to be compromised? Alexander Zaidelson, the CEO of Beam, shared his views with Cointelegraph. A new agreement on crypto and AML? Jiji Press, a major Japanese publication, recently reported that there will be “a new kind of agreement as to cryptocurrency and AML/CFT.“ But for blockchain analysis firm Chainalysis, which …