Ishiba goes cold on crypto tax reform — opposition warns gap between US and Japan getting ‘wider and wider’

Japanese PM Shigeru Ishiba is uninterested in lowering crypto taxes for a hard-squeezed populace, as per comments made on Monday during a Q&A period at the House of Representatives plenary session. When pressed about crypto tax reform and crypto ETFs (exchange-traded funds), the warhawk prime minister questioned whether people should be encouraged at all to invest in such assets, resulting in anger from opposition parties.

Citing a 2024 plan by the Financial Services Agency (FSA) to “reexamine” the topic of crypto, the leader of Japan’s Democratic Party for the People (DPP), Yuichiro Tamaki, said on X he wants “Prime Minister Ishiba to listen to the voice of the people.”

As a public presence pushing for tax reform in Japan — where one can be taxed an astounding 55% on cryptocurrency profits (counted as miscellaneous income) — Tamaki is frustrated with the cold and presumptive remarks Ishiba made on Monday about taxation and ETFs (exchange-traded funds). His concerns are escalated by more and more people getting into crypto in Japan, with even the FSA acknowledging it.

Ishiba uninterested, questions whether publish should even invest

At a plenary session of the House of Representatives on Monday, Japanese PM and defense budget expansionist Shigeru Ishiba doubted whether people in the land of the rising sun should be investing in cryptocurrencies or potential crypto ETFs at all.

DPP representative Satoshi Asano broached the crypto topic with Ishiba at the session, prompting the PM to ponder (translated by Google): “Is it appropriate for the government to encourage investment in crypto assets like [they are] stocks and investment trusts, which have investor protection regulations in place? Will the public understand the application of separate taxation? There are issues that need careful consideration.”

Translated comments by the leader of Japan’s Democratic Party for the People (DPP), Yuichiro Tamaki, on X

The Democratic Party for the People and others have been pushing for a separate 20% taxation rate for cryptocurrencies. Asano pointed out in his question that “As the global market for crypto assets grows rapidly, the current rule that imposes a maximum 55% tax in Japan is becoming a hindrance.” He went on to note that “Web3 companies and personal assets are flowing out of the country.”

In regard to potential Japanese crypto ETFs to compete with the likes of Blackrock and others in the US and globally, Ishiba’s remarks were equally non-committal and even dismissive. “Whether or not to include crypto assets in ETFs needs to be considered based on whether crypto assets are assets that need to be made easier for the public to invest in,” Ishiba was quoted by local media.

DPP leader Tamaki says party has ‘no choice but to do its best’

Posting on X in response to the comments, DPP leader Yuichiro Tamaki emphasized: “The gap between Japan and the United States, which aims to become a Bitcoin powerhouse, is getting wider and wider.”

“I am disappointed with Prime Minister Ishiba’s response regarding tax reform of crypto assets. He gave no response to the application of 20% separate taxation and loss carryover deduction. He is even reluctant to consider crypto asset ETFs.”

Tamaki ended his post on X by saying that his party has “no choice but to do its best.”

Many fingers are crossed from Sapporo to Nagasaki, hoping for a better 2025 in Japan, and for Ishiba to come around. But at least another Japanese name in crypto, Satoshi Nakamoto, has already birthed the idea of permissionless, peer-to-peer crypto transactions that work all over the globe, regardless.

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