The Japanese government is considering promoting the adoption of Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) in the sports industry. To do this, the ruling Liberal Democratic Party's Web3 Digital Society Promotion team is currently drafting a white paper on the matter which will aim to clarify the regulatory environment for NFT-issuing firms and their potential sporting partners. Fantasy sports is at the forefront of this development, as shown by the increased popularity it has found overseas. To this end, sports such as baseball and football (soccer) in Japan could capitalize on this opportunity as any possible fantasy league using NFTs would prove to be very popular in the country. However, strict anti-gambling laws present a hurdle which must be overcome to reach this goal. Especially if a Japanese sports organization were to license an overseas operator when money is involved for participation. To solve this, the white paper suggests either having sponsors provide prize money and prizes or clarifying the regulatory environment for NFT operators and sports teams. The Web3 team is also encouraging the establishment of an industry group for firms that make use of NFTs and the public and private sectors to work together to formulate guidelines. It is no surprise that this NFT taskforce was created, as Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has regularly discussed developing blockchain, metaverse, NFT, and cryptocurrency industries and demonstrating Japan's commitment to Web3-powered business development.



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