Overview

• Under the plan reported by Nikkei, the Securities and Exchange Surveillance Commission would investigate suspicious crypto trades, recommend surcharges or fines, and refer serious cases for prosecution.
• Current law does not explicitly cover digital assets under the Financial Instruments and Exchange Act, leaving oversight largely to the industry’s self-regulatory body, the Japan Virtual and Crypto Assets Exchange Association.
• The Financial Services Agency will finalize the framework details and is preparing amendments that would explicitly prohibit trading on non-public information in cryptocurrencies.
• Regulators acknowledge enforcement challenges in decentralized projects, prompting work on definitions for who qualifies as an insider and what constitutes privileged information.
• Japan’s growing retail market—reported at roughly 7.9 million users—has intensified the push for securities-style enforcement, including penalties tied to illicit profits and scrutiny of token-listing leaks.