Press Conference by Taro Aso, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Finance, and Minister of State for Financial Services
(Excerpt)
(Tuesday, December 19, 2017, 10:33 am to 10:37 am)
[Questions and answers:]
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Q.
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I have a question regarding Bitcoin. Yesterday, the French finance minister said he would be proposing that the G20 discuss joint regulation of Bitcoin. Would you please tell us your views on regulating Bitcoin?
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A.
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Is Bitcoin really a currency?
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Q.
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It is said to be a virtual currency.
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A.
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It has not been established by definition whether it is a currency, and in this sense it is a rather difficult issue to address, but it is said that Bitcoin has become very popular in some countries and there is considerable Bitcoin use in countries where cash is not trusted enough. In Japan, however, the level of trust in cash as currency is extremely high, perhaps the highest in the world. Accordingly, interest in Bitcoin is still mild and not very significant, entirely unlike in those countries where Bitcoin is far more trusted. As to whether it could someday effectively serve as a currency, I do not believe that sufficient trust and validity have yet been established, so we should keep an eye on it for a while longer.
