Stablecoins Reach Japan's Freight Bills as Law Catches Up

The two tracks are separating. Stablecoins are taking over payment functions, while parliament has moved crypto assets out of payments law and into investment regulation, on the reasoning that they are now traded rather than spent. For a market long defined by hack-driven caution, the divide clarifies what each instrument is for.

Yuzo Kano, president of bitFlyer Holdings and representative director of the Japan Blockchain Association, told Asahi Shimbun that crypto's recognition as an investment asset marks a major turning point for the industry.

Logistics settlement crosses over

Logistics group AZ-COM Maruwa Holdings will pay roughly 2,300 subcontractors through JPYC, a yen-pegged stablecoin issued by JPYC Inc, Nikkei reported on 19 Jul. The payments cover outsourcing fees and wages for individual truck drivers and small carriers handling third-party logistics work, including Amazon Japan deliveries. AZ-COM is also considering a business tie-up and an equity investment of just over ¥1bn ($6.2mn) in JPYC Inc, according to the report. No rollout schedule has been disclosed.

Subcontractors have depended on bank transfers carrying fees and settlement lags, squeezing small carriers already stretched for cash. JPYC converts to cash immediately and carries no transfer fee, which AZ-COM intends to use to raise payment frequency, Nikkei reported. Driver shortages have worsened since April 2024, when Japan capped overtime for truck drivers under regulations widely known as the 2024 logistics problem, and faster settlement doubles as a contracting incentive.

Earlier, JPYC acceptance in Japan was limited to individual merchants: Chibo, a chain serving okonomiyaki savoury pancakes, enabled payments at some outlets in April, and dental clinics in Tokyo and Chiba were due to follow in July.

Payments spread across sectors

Three more moves landed in payments the same week. Lawson will begin a JPYC trial in August at a single store in Tokyo's Minato ward, run by KDDI and wallet firm HashPort. The convenience-store operator says it is Japan's first stablecoin trial linked to a point-of-sale (POS) system, an arrangement that lets operators retain data on items purchased and the time of day.

Card company JCB agreed to work with an affiliate of US issuer Circle on payments in USDC, Circle's dollar-pegged stablecoin. JCB plans to begin verification this year at one Tokyo store frequented by inbound visitors, before considering wider merchant adoption. Credit cards impose spending limits, while stablecoins do not, Nikkei reported.

Financial group SBI introduced a lending product on JPYSC, its trust-based yen stablecoin issued in June, letting users lend the token to SBI VC Trade for an initial 12-week term at a 3% annualized return, putting the yield directly against bank deposit rates.

Tokyo reclassifies digital assets

The frame shifted on 15 Jul, when the amendment to the Financial Instruments and Exchange Act (FIEA) cleared the upper house of Japan's Diet, completing its legislative passage. The revised law will take effect on a date set by cabinet order within one year of promulgation.

Crypto has sat under the Payment Services Act as a settlement tool, taxed as miscellaneous income at rates up to 55%, with no ETF path and no insider trading rules. The Financial Services Agency moved it because investment use has overtaken payment use. 

Under the amendment, digital assets will be subject to disclosure duties, insider trading rules and criminal investigation powers of Japan's Securities and Exchange Surveillance Commission (SESC). A separate tax law enacted in March sets a flat 20% rate, 20.315% including the reconstruction surtax, from 1 January of the year after the FIEA amendment takes effect, which points to 2028 on current expectations. Crypto ETFs are expected to open around the same time.

Crypto week coincides with vote

WebX 2026, Japan's largest-class Web3 conference, ran on 13-14 Jul, the day before the amendment cleared the Diet. Announcements from Lawson, JCB and SBI all landed during the conference.

Attendance from the governing party was substantial. Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi opened on day one via video, following remarks from a senior Liberal Democratic Party executive. The industry minister delivered the opening keynote; the digital minister spoke at midday; and the finance minister, who also holds the financial services portfolio, gave a keynote that same day. Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry and the Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO), a government-affiliated body, backed the event.

Brokerages prepare their entry

The reclassification opens crypto to firms regulated under the FIEA.

Nomura Holdings unit Laser Digital Japan is preparing to file for exchange registration, and Nomura Asset Management is preparing to build retail crypto ETFs, Asahi Shimbun reported. Daiwa Securities is studying entry alongside ETF creation and distribution, and SMBC Nikko set up a dedicated unit in February. Customer assets at Japan's crypto exchanges stood at ¥3.5tn ($21bn) at the end of April, including ¥3.2tn in crypto holdings and the rest in cash, according to the Japan Virtual and Crypto assets Exchange Association (JVCEA). The pool is about to face much larger new entrants.

The Mt. Gox collapse in February 2014, the Coincheck hack in January 2018 and the DMM Bitcoin breach in May 2024 made regulatory risk the sector's defining feature. Tokyo has now flipped regulatory clarity into an inbound channel for institutional capital, with payments and investment regulation moving apart in a single week.