Japan's Gov rewards NFTs to local mayors for digital initiatives

Japan's gov issued NFT rewards to 9 local mayors who initiated different projects related to the digital economy in their cities. The rewards were handed out at the Summer Digi Denkoshien 2022 event.

Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and his administration have continuously shared an interest in NFTs on various occasions. The government is now finally making use of NFTs to reward workers.

At the Summer Digi Denkoshien 2022 conference attended by PM Kishida, the Cabinet Secretariat issued NFT rewards to local mayors for initiating digital projects in their cities.

The mayors rewarded with NFTs, include Itaru Maruyama from Yamagata, Sakata, and  Ryu Yamamoto from Maebashi, Gunma, who “utilize digital technology to solve local issues and improve their appeal.”

Mr. Maruyama initiated the use of electric vehicles for local deliveries and Mr. Yamamoto came up with the idea to track real-time traffic conditions via mobile devices’ cameras.

According to Coinpost, the event was also attended by four digital companies,  Indiesquare, Bitflyer Holdings, Tree Digital Studio, and Tomonari Kogei, to honor the work of these mayors.

Since Japan has a history of being pro-innovative with new technology, it is among the few countries that pro-adopted cryptocurrency as a trading asset. Now, NFTs have entered the official office.

The NFTs are non-transferable proof-of-attendance (POAP) on the Ethereum blockchain minuted on Hazama Base, a blockchain platform by Indiesquare.

The NFTs issued by the government cannot be sold on the secondary market but they hold a national value to the mayors. Just like honorary awards in a ceremony, these NFTs are designed the same way.

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