Press Conference by KATAYAMA Satsuki, Minister of Finance and Minister of State for Financial Services

(Excerpt)

(Friday, February 13, 2026, 11:12 am to 11:28 am)

[Opening remarks:]

Minister)

Today, I will first talk about the advanced securities settlement using blockchain. As has already been reported by news media, major securities companies and megabanks are considering a demonstration experiment of advanced securities settlement using blockchain technology. The FSA decided today to support this experiment through PIP (Payment Innovation Project), the advanced settlement project launched last November. Specifically in this experiment, they will facilitate several aspects including the transfer of rights to Japanese Government Bonds, corporate bonds, investment trusts, and stocks by recording and managing the transfer of rights on the blockchain, and they will link the transfer of rights to securities with the payment of trading value using stablecoins. The FSA views this experiment as a positive, cross-industry initiative aimed at improving the process of securities trading. The FSA would like to support the implementation of the demonstration experiment in terms of several aspects, including the interpretation of laws and regulations. I have talked about this issue several times since January 5, and I highly appreciate that the financial and securities industries moved faster than expected. In addition to our efforts, SBI Securities is also trying to implement similar initiatives using its own system, and we are also supporting it. Whether or not we can work together is a matter for each company. If advanced and faster settlement can be achieved in the Tokyo Stock Market through the use of blockchain and stablecoin mechanisms, we can position ourselves at the forefront of the cutting-edge competition currently unfolding across global markets. We have not yet fully realized this, but I think it is ground-breaking to be able to do so and to be at the forefront.