Japan’s Financial Services Agency said on April 25, 2025 that it had partially amended the list of countries and regions covered by its crypto travel rule framework, adding 30 jurisdictions. The change lifts the network from 28 to 58 markets, widening the reporting perimeter for cross-border transfers involving cryptoassets and stablecoins.
The FSA said Japan already requires Cryptoasset Exchange Service Providers and Electronic Payment Instruments Service Providers to transmit information on originators and beneficiaries when cryptoassets or electronic payment instruments are transferred. That structure is meant to make transfers more traceable for regulated intermediaries and for authorities. With the new amendment, a larger share of international transfers involving foreign virtual asset service providers falls inside a recognized compliance map.
Thirty more jurisdictions added to Japan’s reporting framework
Before the update, Japan’s framework already covered 28 jurisdictions, including the United States, the United Kingdom, Singapore, Switzerland, the United Arab Emirates, Hong Kong, and South Korea. The latest amendment adds another 30, including France, Italy, Spain, Sweden, the Netherlands, Ireland, Belgium, the Czech Republic, South Africa, and Türkiye.
The FSA said it limited the scope of the travel rule to foreign VASPs in jurisdictions with regulations equivalent to Japan’s own because the regime is less effective where the counterparty country lacks similar legal requirements. In practice, that means Japan is tying cross-border compliance to regulatory equivalence, and the latest expansion reflects how travel rule implementation has progressed across different markets.
Exchanges and issuers must pass names, addresses, and blockchain data
According to the agency’s explanation, since June 2023 Japan’s rules have required the originator VASP to notify the beneficiary VASP of identifying information at the time of transfer. Mandatory fields include names, addresses or customer identification numbers, and blockchain address data for both originators and beneficiaries. The framework distinguishes between natural persons and legal persons, and VASPs must retain records of all information sent and received.
The regime explicitly covers both cryptoassets and electronic payment instruments, which the FSA identifies here as stablecoins. The agency also says the rules apply regardless of transfer amount or token type, though transfers to individuals and unregistered VASPs are not handled in the same way under the framework.
Japan is widening oversight, not reducing it
The structure points in one direction: Japan is not bringing crypto into regulated finance by loosening supervision. It is permitting regulated use while attaching heavier information duties to transfers that move through licensed entities. By extending the list of recognized jurisdictions, the FSA is building a more formal cross-border reporting network and a whitelist-style system where information-sharing obligations are expected to work in a way regulators consider meaningful.
The source also notes that Japanese VASPs could face stricter cross-border checks in 2025 as alignment with FATF-style standards continues. For now, the current framework already places transaction traceability, data transmission, and record retention at the center of Japan’s crypto compliance regime.