Japan appoints a new digital minister sparking high expectations that the government will prioritize Web3 growth in its economic objectives following the appointment of the new minister by the country’s Prime Minister.

The lawmaker Taro Kono declared on Twitter that he had been chosen for the position in the most recent ministerial shuffle by the prime minister, Fumio Kishida.

Japan Appoints A New Digital Minister

The nomination seems to be a crystal-clear indication of Kishida’s intentions: In addition to having a strong social media following and having previously attended Georgetown University, Kono is a former executive in the tech sector and speaks English very well. He served as the former Minister of State for Administrative Reform and earlier served as the head of the foreign ministry.

Taro Kono met in person with Vitalik Buterin, the co-founder of Ethereum (ETH), and Aya Miyaguchi, the executive director of the Ethereum Foundation, while serving as foreign minister.

In the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) leadership contest last year, Kono came up just short of defeating Kishida. He would have become prime minister if he had prevailed.

More recently, he asked his 2.4 million Twitter followers to make him a digital avatar so he could utilize it in metaverse settings.

Kono will serve as the director of the government-run Digital Agency, which was established in 2009 with the goals of digitizing government operations, bridging the technological gap between rural and urban areas, and fostering IT-based development.

Optimism And Talk Of Crypto Tax

But in recent months, Kishida and the dominant LDP have expressed optimism over the growth of Web3. Tokyo looks to be taking its efforts in this area very seriously right now if the appointment of a minister with Kono’s influence to properly lead this endeavor is any indication.

Talk of crypto tax reform has been sparked by opposition lawmakers and industry executives warning that top Japanese blockchain and cryptocurrency expertise is leaving the country due to onerous tax rates.

Additionally, during a May visit to the UK, Kishida informed British investors that his government was focusing on Web3-related growth and made mention in his address of both metaverse- and non-fungible token (NFT)-related advances.

The new Web3 Promotional Office was established by the Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry last month. It was described as “a cross-ministerial organization” in the latter.

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