Where does Japanese PM Sanae Takaichi stand on crypto? Here’s what we know

Long-awaited crypto tax reforms will go through unimpeded following the Liberal Democratic Party’s resounding victory in a snap election on Sunday, experts say.

Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi called the election in January, hoping to capitalise on her sky-high pre-election approval ratings. Takaichi promised to resign if her party failed to win a decisive majority.

Her gamble paid off, with the LDP winning a supermajority of two-thirds of the lower house’s seats.

“In terms of her foreign and fiscal policy, the nationalist Prime Minister Takaichi differs very much from her more centrist predecessors Fumio Kishida and Shigeru Ishiba,” said a Japanese crypto trader and securities firm employee who spoke to DL News on condition of anonymity.

“I don’t get the impression she is particularly pro- or anti–crypto in any significant way.”

With more Japanese companies flocking to crypto in recent months, industry insiders are quietly confident that Takaichi will continue to reform Japan’s restrictive crypto laws.

Tax reform plans

The Japanese cryptocurrency industry is currently focused on issues like tax reform and the efforts to reclassify Bitcoin and leading altcoins as financial investment products, rather than forms of payment, Japanese media outlet CoinPost reported.

Japan began implementing crypto reforms under the premiership of Kishida, who served as prime minister between 2021 and 2024. Kishida unveiled plans to develop web 3 and blockchain technology industries in May 2022.

Under his leadership, the LDP established web3 policy-forming taskforces. The taskforces recommended tax reform and relaxing the rules governing crypto exchanges.

The tax reform plan, as it stands, will see Tokyo introduce a flat 20% capital gains levy on crypto profits as of 2028. It also proposes allowing investors to carry their losses over to the following financial year.

Currently, crypto profits must be declared on annual tax declarations. This means higher earners can pay up to 55% of their crypto earnings to the government.

Kishida’s successor Ishiba advocated a continuation of the reform policies, and made several pro-blockchain industry statements. It was under his leadership that Japanese companies first began buying Bitcoin with their balance sheets.

Takaichi took power in October.

Despite coming from a more conservative wing of the LDP than her two predecessors, she allowed the taskforces to continue their reform-related work.

Her pre-election cabinet has also spoken about crypto in positive terms. In January, Takaichi’s Minister of Finance Satsuki Katayama said Japan’s cryptocurrency and web 3 industries were “at a turning point.”

Katayama also said the government plans to submit a tax law reform to parliament in spring 2026.

A change of government would have risked derailing these policies, CoinPost wrote, adding that industry sources have actively welcomed news of the LDP’s landslide victory.

The PM’s own comments on crypto demonstrate the likelihood of continuity in Japanese crypto deregulation.

When asked about her stance on crypto tax reform in parliament last year, Takaichi replied that her government would “respond appropriately” based on the LDP’s taskforce’s recommendations.

Japanese financial analysts said Takaichi’s plans to carry out tax cuts and suspend the 8% consumption tax levy on food could lead to higher government bond yields and a weaker yen.

In this case, CoinPost wrote in its analysis, crypto and stocks are likely to benefit from increased domestic risk appetite.

Stock market picture

History shows that when the LDP wins a majority in a lower house election, overseas investors tend to snap up Japanese stocks, Daisuke Uchiyama, a senior strategist at the securities provider Okasan Securities, told Japanese news agency Nikkei.

Other experts told the publication they expect more foreign capital to flow into the Japanese stock market in the election’s wake. That stock market includes several companies with strong connections to crypto.

But while the election has seen share prices surge in the tech sector, the picture for Japanese crypto-related companies listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange is currently decidedly mixed.

SBI Holdings, a securities giant with crypto mining and exchange subsidiaries, saw its share price rise by over 3% in the past five days. Monex Group, another securities player that also operates a crypto exchange, also saw 2.7% gains over the same period.

But Japanese digital asset treasuries, publicly traded companies that have used their balance sheets to buy Bitcoin and altcoins, have suffered losses in the wake of the election. Metaplanet shares are down over 9% in the past five days, with Remixpoint falling 2% in the same period.

Tim Alper is a News Correspondent at DL News. Got a tip? Email him at tdalper@dlnews.com.