Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi has denied any involvement in a cryptocurrency bearing her name and urged the public to exercise caution.
In a post on the social media platform X, formerly Twitter, on March 2, Takaichi said she “knows nothing” about the Sanae Token crypto asset and that she “has not given any authorization.”
The prime minister said she decided to make the statement “so that members of the public will not be misled.”
Meanwhile, the Financial Services Agency has begun an investigation, suspecting that the cryptocurrency is being sold without the required registration.
According to the project’s official website and other materials, Sanae Token went on sale on Feb. 25 as part of the Japan Is Back Project, which involves entrepreneur Yuji Mizoguchi.
The project states that it “will deliver users’ voices to Takaichi and other policymakers ‘as the voice of the people,’ to be used as a reference for policy formulation.”
Under FSA guidelines, selling cryptocurrencies or trading them for other crypto assets constitutes operating a cryptocurrency exchange business, which requires registration with the agency.
The company said to have issued Sanae Token is unregistered and has not undergone screening by an industry self‑regulatory organization, sources said.
If the lack of registration is confirmed, the financial watchdog is expected to demand that the operator register or, if it refuses to comply, request a suspension of sales.
(This article was written by Daiki Koga and Toshiki Horigome.)