According to a report by the Japanese media Coinpost, Japan's new Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba confirmed the cabinet personnel transfer policy on the 29th and plans to appoint LDP Web3 project team chairman Hirai Masaki as the new Digital Minister.
Hirai Masaki was first elected as a member of the House of Representatives in Tokyo's 4th district in 2005, serving as Deputy Minister of the Cabinet Office and Parliamentary Secretary for the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, and has chaired related project teams in the field of AI (artificial intelligence). He has long been regarded as a member of the Ishiba faction and has extensive experience in the digital field.
The Web3 project team chaired by Hirai held a joint meeting in April this year with the "Digital Society Promotion Headquarters" led by the first Digital Minister Takuya Hirai, and rewrote a new guideline white paper. This white paper envisions "Japan becoming the center of the web3 era," forecasting a future where new technologies become the foundation of society, listing core issues that need to be addressed to promote Web3, and providing in-depth discussions and suggestions for its further development.
In terms of tax reform, the white paper discusses relevant tax policies for crypto assets (virtual currencies), including separate taxation for reporting trading gains and losses, as well as suggestions for tax exemption on transactions between virtual currencies.
Additionally, the white paper proposes development suggestions for areas such as DAOs (Decentralized Autonomous Organizations), stablecoins, security tokens, and NFTs (Non-Fungible Tokens). The white paper has been highly regarded by the industry, as it incorporates the needs and opinions of most sectors.
The document was reviewed by the LDP's Policy Research Council in May and was formally submitted to Prime Minister Kishida as part of the "Digital Japan 2024" plan by the Digital Society Promotion Headquarters.
It is reported that the tax reform from 2023 to 2024 allows Japanese companies to only pay taxes on the profits generated from the sale of tokens. This measure lowers the threshold for companies to hold self-issued tokens and provides more convenience for long-term investment, governance, and staking of virtual currencies, which is expected to have a positive impact on the development of this field.