Japan’s Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama said she fully supports the integration of crypto trading services by the country’s stock exchanges, as she touted 2026 as the “digital year,” according to a report by Japanese crypto news site Coinpost.

Katayama emphasized that regulated venues will play a central role in expanding crypto adoption at a ceremony in Tokyo on Jan. 5 to mark the first stock market trading session of the year. “For the public to enjoy the benefits of digital assets and blockchain-type assets, the role of securities and commodity exchanges is important,” she said.

Digital asset trading in Japan remains largely siloed from traditional capital markets. The separation has been a defining feature of Japan’s…