Japan’s Consumer Affairs Agency(CAA) has seen a 170% increase in the total number of queries related to cryptocurrencies in comparison to the same point last year, demonstrating that interest is indeed on the upswing for the industry.
The CAA is one of the primary administrative agencies of Japan’s Cabinet Office and is responsible for the day-to-day affairs related to the executive branch of the government. As part of their duties, they are required to report information related to consumers and consumer protections, reports that they file with the legislative body of Japan, the Diet.
In a recent report sent to the legislative body, the CAA reported a sizable increase in the number of inquiries regarding cryptocurrency exchanges. According to the findings, the agency received 3,657 inquiries during the most recent fiscal year, a 170% increase from the previous year.
The report explained that the largest number of inquiries were related to people complaining about scams or mistreatment by an exchange service. However, these were not the only kinds of inquiries. There were also concerns that citizens had about the credibility of an exchange, requests for refunds from exchange services, or questions related to security. There were also problems that consumers had about logins, websites, and payments. All of these requests came funneled into the CAA.
Interest in cryptocurrencies has been growing in Japan. According to a recent report, Japan joins the U.S. and South Korea as the three leading countries regarding citizen’s interest in cryptocurrencies. These three countries, along with Indonesia and India, combine for nearly half of the overall traffic of cryptocurrency exchanges.
Surprisingly, what was not mentioned by the agency was concerns citizens had regarding taxation of cryptocurrencies. This has become a growing problem in the country, where 200 specialists were recently appointed by the government to assist in tracking down traders who have been involved in cryptocurrency exchanges, yet have not been paying the proper amount of tax.
In early June, Japan made a point of cracking down on those who had been avoiding paying taxes. Japanese officials have thrown around the idea of prosecuting those who have failed to pay their taxes.
Another surprising development within the report is the fact that inquiries from Japanese investors decreased in the last two fiscal quarters. No explanation was provided as to the reasons for the declining numbers.
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