Japan to Update Laws to Seize Digital Assets

• Crypto assets are expected to be treated similarly to monetary claims.
• Law update by the end of this year after legal team advice.

Japan’s Ministry of Justice, is in process of updating the Organized crime sector laws to inculcate the cryptocurrency. Digital assets are the focus of money laundering, cyber-attacks, and anti-social activities, and there is no particular law they fall under.

The organized crime sector deals with real estate, moving property, and monetary claims. The officials mark similar characteristics from all these in cryptocurrency, they are hesitant in places such as not being backed up by any government or banks. But it is deposited using a medium called Exchange, which resembles deposits made in Monetary funds.

This February, a legislative council, which acts as an advisory body, decided to stricten the actions against the criminal activities practiced in the cyber world. To do so, after discussion with the legal team, changes are expected to be pronounced in the current law by the end of this year.

As per the JVCEA stats, 102k million yen valued crypto transactions were made as of June 2022. And a major forge was in 2018 worth 58 billion yen during a cyber leak. A steady increase in the number of transactions as false can also be seen.