Press Conference by Taro Aso, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Finance, and Minister of State for Financial Services

(Excerpt)

(Tuesday, March 4, 2014, 8:42 am to 8:51 am)

[Questions and answers]

Q.

On the subject of Bitcoin, you said the other day that the relevant government departments would be considering their responses, so please tell me how things are currently progressing, and if anything has been decided yet.

A.

We’re still trying to get hold of the facts, and at least until we finish doing that, even we won’t really know whether what has happened with MtGox, which has applied for protection under the Civil Rehabilitation Act, constitutes a crime or just a bankruptcy. Is this a currency? Questions like that will come up, so who has jurisdiction? The Consumer Affairs Agency? The National Police Agency? The Financial Services Agency? If I’m asked who will have jurisdiction, I have to say that I don’t really know. We don’t really know what has actually taken place, so I honestly don’t know. We will look a little more closely at what led to this, and because an application for protection under the Civil Rehabilitation Act has been made, we will also need to examine that application.

(End)