Japan Targets the Web3 Field, Seeking New Economic Breakthroughs

As the world's third-largest economy, Japan has faced numerous challenges in recent years. Issues such as the recurring COVID-19 pandemic, worsening debt crisis, and aging population have placed immense pressure on the Japanese economy. In the face of these difficulties, Japan is seeking to achieve economic transformation and growth through the development of emerging fields such as Web3.

Looking back at Japan's economic development history, it can be seen that it has undergone multiple crises and transformations. After World War II, Japan quickly recovered and achieved rapid growth, becoming the second largest economy after the United States. However, after the collapse of the bubble economy in the 1990s, the Japanese economy fell into a long-term stagnation. In response to the crisis, Japan accelerated industrial upgrading and globalization strategies, vigorously developing high-tech industries such as automobiles and electronics, and strengthening overseas investments. After years of adjustment, Japan has gradually established a competitive advantage in some high-end manufacturing and technology sectors.

However, Japan's development in the internet economy has been relatively lagging. This is primarily constrained by several factors: first, the limited scale of the domestic market in Japan makes it difficult to support the growth of large internet companies; second, Japan's traditional culture is relatively conservative, which is not conducive to internet innovation; furthermore, Japan has a well-established offline service system, resulting in insufficient demand for internet services; finally, Japan missed the critical period of internet development and has struggled to master core technologies. This has led to a lack of representative companies in Japan within the global internet industry.

In response to this situation, the Japanese government is actively laying out plans in the Web3 field, hoping to reshape economic vitality through this emerging industry. Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has repeatedly expressed support for the development of Web3 and is promoting relevant legislation. Japan has enacted the world's first stablecoin legislation and plans to create a favorable environment for Web3 companies through tax incentives and other means.

With policy support, Japan's Web3 industry has shown signs of development. Currently, there are several licensed cryptocurrency exchanges in Japan, with a user base reaching millions. Some large companies, such as Bandai Namco, have also begun to venture into Web3 projects. Venture capital firms are actively laying out plans in related fields.

Although Japan started late in the Web3 field, it is expected to find new economic growth points in this emerging industry due to its advantages in gaming, anime, and strong government support. However, limited by factors such as market size, Japan still faces many challenges to achieve a leapfrog in the short term. Whether Japan can reproduce its past economic brilliance is worth paying attention to.