Japan Web3 Roundup: Capital Alliances, DIDs, and regional NFTs

Monex Securities and NTT Docomo Capital alliance

Monex Securities, the parent company of the Japanese cryptocurrency exchange Coincheck, has announced a capital and business alliance with NTT Docomo and its parent group, the Monex Group. NTT Docomo is one of the largest phone operators in Japan, with over 50 million customers nationwide and a market share of 36.1%. Additionally, the mobile operator runs a loyalty program called dPoint Club, which counts around 96 million members.

With this partnership, the companies hope to offer educational services such as teaching about asset investment in its d Payment app. Furthermore, the capital and business partnership will focus on evolving the existing business model of the securities company and expanding it to include new asset issuance services. One area they are exploring is the realm of security tokens, tokens that are backed by existing financial securities.

Takeaway: NTT Docomo is in web3 to make its mark. The company isn’t just entering this alliance with a major exchange but has also shared that they are launching a new web3 company. In Japan, web3 is seen by big corporates as an area to innovate and connect with their customers in stark contrast with how many corporates approach it in the Western hemisphere.

DID Consortium

Eight Japanese companies recently formed the “DID/VC Co-creation Consortium”, short DVCC, to work together on researching decentralized identifiers' verifiable credentials and collaborate on business initiatives related to them.

Established by Mitsibushi UFJ Trust and Banking, NTT Data, Hitachi, Fujitsu, and others, the consortium aims to develop interoperability rules, frameworks, and standards that help the implementation of DID & VCs in society while facilitating their use in business environments.

Decentralized identifiers are self-sovereign digital identities that are managed by blockchain, whereas Verifiable Credentials are an open standard for digital credentials set up by the W3C. These types of identities offer enhanced privacy resistance to tampering and empower individuals to manage their own information securely.

The member companies will use their shared expertise to collaborate with government agencies on the topic while creating standards that work best for the Japanese market.

Takeaway: DIDs are an exciting field that promises to offer users more privacy and control over who sees and can use their data. It’s natural for big companies in the realm of finance and tech to tap their toes into it. However, challenges remain in making these solutions easy to use and accessible to all.

Regional NFTs

Kanazawa Park lit up

While NFT projects often try to target the entire world, other initiatives are rooted more deeply in their geographic region. Fujitsu Japan is now collaborating with the Kanazawa Institute of Technology’s Idehara Lab to promote the use of technology to revitalize a community. With Japan aging fast, some regions increasingly face the challenge that there are few individuals involved in community development. To address this challenge, Fujitsu and the Kanazawa Institute of Technology have devised a campaign that will enable non-locals to interact with the community.

Throughout the initiative, Fujitsu’s Web3 Acceleration Platform will issue NFTs that will be distributed during a local light-up event held from October 20 - 22, 2023. The combined use of AR and NFTs will allow visitors to experience Kanazawa in a new light, by projecting virtual worlds that run in sync with a live piano performance. All participants will need is a smartphone web app to interact with the event.

With the campaign, Fujitsu hopes to establish the effectiveness of NFTs in encouraging repeat visits to tourist destinations and boosting local businesses.

Takeaway: NFTs can be much more than just a boring JPEG to flex on one’s X profile. They can become a vehicle to engage communities and enhance events by merging virtual reality and the real world.

In other news

• Sushi Top creates an app to manage NFTs across chains
• Digital Yen coming in 2024
• Ginco x Tofu NFT tapping into RWAs, tokenizing sake & more

Events

Oct 18th: The future of the Web3 Metaverse

Oct 20th: UniCask Party

Oct 24th: Building a DAO as a business

Japan Fact: 📮 Wakayama in Japan has the deepest underwater post box. And yes, it’s actually used. On busy days, divers leave nearly 200 water-resistant messages there. The message cards aren’t just waterproof; some of them are even edible. You can read more about it here.