Japanese Bitcoin ETF Could Debut in 2027, Says KPMG Exec

Japanese crypto enthusiasts may have to wait until the spring of 2027 to see a Bitcoin ETF launch, a KPMG Japan executive has claimed.

Per the Japanese media outlet Coin Post, the comments came from Kenji Hoki, the head of the accounting giant’s web3 and fintech department.

Hoki was speaking at the WebX2025 summit in Tokyo during a session named “A Japanese Bitcoin ETF: Feasibility and Issues to be Solved.”

No Japanese Bitcoin ETF Until 2027?

Yasuki opined that policymakers may include a request to lift the ban on domestic Bitcoin-based ETFs in their next tax reform requests.

However, Japanese regulators typically submit tax reform requests at the start of the calendar year.

That means that the Bitcoin ETF request would likely materialize in early 2026. If this request were accepted, the National Diet could vote it into law in March or April 2026.

The Japanese Bitcoin ETF law would then come into effect in the spring of 2027, Yasuki explained.

However, the expert added that the government has tools to fast-track Bitcoin ETF approval, if it chooses to use them. Yasuki said:

“If we can address this issue through a government ordinance amendment rather than [using legal amendments], it is not impossible that the ban could be lifted as early as next year.”

But legal obstacles remain, the KPMG official said, pointing to the terms of the Investment Trust Act. Yasuki explained:

“The assets that investment trusts can invest in are limited. It doesn’t seem that the investment trusts that form the basis of ETFs will be allowed to buy cryptoassets directly.”

He added that supervisory guidelines stand in the way. And he added that advocates have made “little progress in harmonizing opinions within the industry.”

We Are Losing Ground to US, Singapore, and Hong Kong, Say Experts

Speaking during the same session, Tomoya Asakura, the President and CEO of SBI Global Asset Management, lamented:

“The earliest we can expect approval is two years from now. But that is still too late. The US market has been moving very quickly over the past six months. In a year’s time, we can also expect to be significantly behind Hong Kong and Singapore.”

Asakura added that Tokyo has “clearly stated that it will turn crypto into a range of financial products that can be used to help citizens build wealth.”

“The important thing now,” he said. “Is how quickly this can be realized.”

Asakura suggested that one “realistic” solution could involve allowing Japanese investors access to overseas Bitcoin ETFs. The SBI Global Asset Management chief explained:

“One way around the problem would be to bring a US Bitcoin ETF to Japan and incorporate it into an investment trust. If this can be addressed by simply changing supervisory guidelines, that would be the quickest way.”

Japanese Investors Want Access to BTC

Another speaker at the same event, Hajime Ikeda, the Executive Officer of Nomura Holdings, explained that Japanese investors are becoming increasingly crypto-curious.

Ikeda pointed at the results of a large-scale survey on crypto adoption conducted in Japan last year.

The survey found that over 60% of Japanese investors express a desire to invest in cryptoassets “in some form or other.”

Advocates say more should be done to address growing investor demand for access to crypto.

Speaking at the same event earlier this week, Katsunobu Kato, the Japanese Finance Minister, said cryptoassets could become “part of” Tokyo’s “diversified investments.”

Kato added that volatility-related risks remain in the crypto space. However, the minister said that building an appropriate investment environment may help mitigate these.

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