As exhibited in the charts below, Web3 has been capturing attention globally, and the crypto market has experienced exponential growth over the last couple of years. The recent trend has reached its way to Japan, slowly but surely. Despite the strict restrictions on cryptocurrency which stands as an obstacle for Japanese entrepreneurs innovating in the space, there has been a rapid increase in the number of new web3 projects founded by Japanese founders. This article will introduce some of the most active/well-known projects in the Japanese Web3 Landscape by the use of a visual landscape map.

Before diving into the projects, the authors would like to clarify the definition of ‘Japanese Web3 Projects’. In this article, ‘Japanese Web3 Projects’ will be defined as “Web3 projects that either operate in Japan or have one or more Japanese person(s) as their core members.”

• EGGRYPTO - A free-to-play blockchain game where users Hatch and Raise their monsters.

https://eggrypto.com/

• CryptoSpells - digital trading card game where you can own and trade digital assets.

https://en.cryptospells.jp/

• JobTribes

https://jobtribes.playmining.com/en/

• Double Jump Tokyo - A startup developing blockchain games and NFT services.

https://www.doublejump.tokyo/en

• My Crypto Heroes

https://www.mycryptoheroes.net/#mch

• PENTA

https://mobile.twitter.com/penta_web3

• Wagumi DAO

https://wagumi.xyz/

• DeStore

https://www.desto.re/

• Yay!

https://yay.space/en/

• shiftbase

https://shiftbase.xyz/en#

• Dev Protocol

https://devprotocol.xyz/

• Kunimitsu DAO

https://financie.jp/users/kunimitsudao/cards

• Proved

https://www.proved.xyz/

• Murakami.Flowers

https://murakamiflowers.kaikaikiki.com/

• Shinsei Galverse

https://www.galverse.art/

• CryptoNinja | NinjaDAO

https://www.ninja-dao.com/en

• NEN (by Pictoria)

https://www.pjnen.com/

• KAWAII SKULL

https://twitter.com/kawaiiskull_nft?s=20&t=CDwOF2JWW8_hCOPRWB5JCw

• VeryLongAnimals

https://twitter.com/verylonganimals?s=20&t=Rmmg0gMHivz0Mkl3FKJJUQ

• Onigiriman’s cute girl Collection

https://twitter.com/onigiriman1998?s=20&t=8jvHDg5GjTduIvY0PsoHmA

• Alyawmu - NFT x “Furusato Nozei (hometown tax system)”

https://alyawmu.com/

• tofuNFT

https://tofunft.com/

• FanTop

https://fantop.jp/en

• Hashhub

https://hashhub.tokyo/en/

• Pol

https://pol.techtec.world/en

• Astar Network

https://astar.network/

• Shiden Network

https://shiden.astar.network/

• Oasys

https://www.oasys.games/

• HashPalette

https://hashpalette.com/eng

• cega

https://www.cega.fi/

• LOCKON

https://lockon.finance/

• JPYC - JPY stable coin

https://jpyc.jp/

• UXD Protocol

https://uxd.fi/

• InsureDAO

https://www.insuredao.fi/

• New Economy

https://www.neweconomy.jp/

• CryptoTimes

https://crypto-times.jp/

• CoinPost

https://coinpost.jp/

• Coincheck

https://coincheck.com/

• Liquid by FTX

https://www.liquid.com/ja/

• bitFlyer

https://bitflyer.com/en-jp/

• GMO Coin

https://coin.z.com/jp/

• Fondi

https://www.fondi.fun/top/ja

VC and Incubators play a crucial role in the ecosystem by supporting projects get off the ground by providing capital, network, expertise, strategy guidance, just to mention a few.

• Skyland Ventures

https://skyland.vc/

• emoote

https://emoote.com/

• Gumi Cryptos

https://www.gumi-cryptos.com/

• MZ Web3 Fund

https://web3.mzfund.co.jp/

• Next Web Capital

https://nextweb.capital/

• Infinity Ventures Crypto

https://www.ivcrypto.io/

• Fracton Ventures

https://fracton.ventures/

During the process of gathering and selecting projects, it was noticeable that the current Japanese Web3 ecosystem is mostly on the application layer (GameFi, NFTs, DAOs, etc ). In contrast, there were very few projects on the blockchain/protocol layer to choose from.

The number of VCs/Incubator in the space has increased singnificantly since the beginning of this year, which perhaps indicates the potential and the excitement in the space.

The Japanese government has approved a new policy which plans to grow the Web3 environment in the country. Details are available here:

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/japan-government-approves-policy-drive-084119868.html?soc_src=social-sh&soc_trk=tw&tsrc=twtr

The articles below further elaborate on the state of the Japanese Web3 market. (They are in Chinese and Japanese so I suggest you use DeepL to translate it first)

https://mirror.xyz/nothingless.eth/a5_CwpoGAThdYKwgZ4iEB25IrWzyyO6aZmsY6x63rSI

https://mirror.xyz/naritaiki.eth/hZdKC8xUcuhK7HqUeN0v9GVCa0CZ8A5ceOaBdmiPtYs

Disclaimer:

• This article is written by members of Skyland Ventures, a Japanese VC specialised in Web3. There are some portfolio companies included in the Landscape Map.

• The authors did not conduct an in-depth research to quantify each project’s success, thus, there may be biased views on the selection process.

If you have any suggestions/feedback, please contact us via email( info@skyland.vc).

This Landscape Map+Article was cocreated by @Rokkusensei, @TakashiKahara, and @sogorman2001.