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Japan FSA official Shigeru Shimizu outlined a bill to move crypto assets under the Financial Instruments and Exchange Act

Japan FSA official Shigeru Shimizu outlined a bill to move crypto assets under the Financial Instruments and Exchange Act

Japan’s Financial Services Agency submitted a bill to reclassify crypto assets under FIEA, aiming to strengthen investor protections, tighten enforcement, and support pilots for blockchain-based payments and tokenization.

Fact Check
The claim has substantial support, but only part of it is directly confirmed by primary official material. The CoinPost article '金融庁、仮想通貨の金商法移行を説明...' explicitly says that at the 9th BCCC Collaborative Day on 2026-04-21, Shigeru Shimizu of Japan’s FSA explained a bill to move crypto assets to the Financial Instruments and Exchange Act and discussed payment-advancement projects involving stablecoins and tokenized deposits. That aligns closely with the claim. Official FSA materials from 2026-04-22 strengthen the surrounding context: the FSA report page '「ASEAN主要国における金融テクノロジー活用の取組に関する委託調査」報告書の公表について' and its linked PDF show the agency was publicly focused on blockchain-based and digital-payment modernization themes, while '「電子決済手段・暗号資産サービス仲介業」制度に係る 登録事前説明会の開催について' confirms active crypto-regulatory implementation work. However, no official FSA transcript, slide deck, or official @JFSA_en post located in this run directly records Shigeru Shimizu making the exact statement at BCCC Collaborative Day, and the specific 'more than 14 million domestic crypto accounts' figure was not directly verified from the official sources gathered here. Therefore the overall claim is likely true, but confidence is medium rather than high.
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Summary

Japan’s Financial Services Agency has submitted a bill to move crypto asset regulation from the Payment Services Act to the Financial Instruments and Exchange Act. The proposal would strengthen user protection, create a new category for crypto asset trading, impose tighter penalties on unregistered operators, and expand insider trading rules. Officials also outlined three blockchain-related pilot projects covering yen stablecoins, on-chain securities settlement, and tokenized deposit transfers, linking the legislative shift with broader financial infrastructure experimentation.

Terms & Concepts
  • crypto assets: Digital assets such as cryptocurrencies that are recognized and regulated under financial or payment-related legal frameworks.
  • Financial Instruments and Exchange Act: Japan’s main securities and financial products law, often abbreviated as FIEA, which governs investment products, disclosure, and market conduct.
  • yen stablecoins: Digital tokens designed to maintain a stable value by being linked to the Japanese yen, typically for payments or settlement use cases.