Japan’s FSA allows stablecoin transactions over 1 million yen, signaling institutional ambitions

Japan’s Financial Services Agency is opening the door to stablecoin transactions exceeding 1 million yen (roughly $6,700), a threshold that previously served as a hard ceiling for certain service providers.

Japan classified stablecoins as Electronic Payment Instruments under an amended Payment Services Act back in 2023. Under Japan’s framework, stablecoin issuance is restricted to licensed entities: banks, trust companies, and specific fund transfer service providers. Among those providers, Type II FTSPs have been subject to a transaction ceiling of 1 million yen per transfer, effectively limiting their utility for anything beyond retail-scale payments.

The FSA plans to establish a dedicated Crypto Assets and Stablecoins Division, set to begin operations on August 7, 2026. Japan is expected to see the launch of JPYC, its first regulated yen-pegged stablecoin, by 2025. Equivalence frameworks for foreign-issued stablecoins are slated to take effect in June 2026, which would create pathways for tokens minted outside Japan to operate within its regulatory perimeter.

The amended Payment Services Act from 2023 laid the groundwork by clearly defining what a stablecoin is under Japanese law: a fiat-pegged, par-redeemable instrument issued by a licensed entity.

For global stablecoin issuers like Circle and Tether, the upcoming equivalence framework could open a market that has been largely off-limits. Japan’s strict licensing requirements have kept most foreign stablecoins out of domestic exchanges, but a formal equivalence pathway would change that calculus significantly.

The dedicated FSA division won’t be operational until mid-2026, and the equivalence frameworks arrive around the same time, leaving a roughly 12-to-18-month window where Japan will be operating under transitional rules.