Japan Gets Its Own ‘Metaverse Economic Zone,’ With Help From Fujitsu

The next wave of metaverse development is taking off in Japan.

Mitsubishi and Fujitsu are among the sizable Japanese tech companies working to build the “Ryugukoku,” or “Japanese Metaverse Economic Zone.”

The idea is to power Japan through the development of next-generation games. Companies will use their respective technologies and areas of expertise to design the social infrastructure for the metaverse. 

Areas of focus will include enabling interoperability, gamification, fintech and information communications technology (ICT).

End users will have the chance to engage in the metaverse through role-playing game (RPG) characters, who will be able to participate in different virtual worlds and move across realms in the metaverse. 

Read more: The Architect’s Guide to Building in the Metaverse

Security will also be a significant focus for Ryugukoku. Major Japanese financial institutions, corporations and TBT Lab Group will collaborate to ensure user identity authentication, payments and data infrastructure insurance are in place. 

Although the project will initially begin within the island nation, there are plans to eventually move “to companies and government agencies outside of Japan.” Hajime Tabata, a game creator and Web3 adviser for the Japanese government, first introduced the concept.

There isn’t much mention of crypto or blockchain in Fujitsu’s accompanying release, but it does make reference to NFTs in the context of digital ownership.

Despite being an early adopter, Japan has been relatively strict in regulating cryptocurrencies. It was one of the first countries to draw up regulations around stablecoin issuance.

The move to create an interoperable metaverse comes soon after the Liberal Democratic Party of Japan published a proposal on Web3 policy.

“This is an opportunity for Japan to vigorously promote the development of an internationally competitive web3 business environment as a part of its national strategy, and to demonstrate leadership in international regulatory discussions,” the proposal said. 

“Now is the time for the public and private sectors to gather their knowledge and expertise to make Japan the global hub of responsible innovation.”

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