Japan FSA pushes blockchain adoption across financial infrastructure

Japan’s Financial Services Agency has made the adoption of blockchain-based on-chain finance a policy priority for its 2026 program year, with plans covering payments, securities settlement, tokenization and cross-border transfers. Summary Japan’s FSA has made on-chain finance a 2026 policy priority covering payments, securities settlement and tokenized assets. The regulator plans to launch an On-chain Finance Forum for the AI Era to examine technical, regulatory and supervisory issues. Japan will explore blockchain use in cross-border payments and work with market participants on faster securities settlement. The policy calls for public and private sector testing while maintaining user protection and financial system stability. The Financial Services Agency outlined the direction in its 2026 Strategic Priorities published on Sept. 15, setting out how it plans to respond to changes in financial markets driven by blockchain and artificial intelligence. The policy calls for public and private sector testing of on-chain systems while regulators examine the technology, legal framework and supervisory issues involved. The FSA said the work would be carried out while maintaining user pro...