Aug 6, 2026 — FSA & National Police Agency joint request: 11 measures on account checks, withdrawal limits, name matching
On August 6, 2026, Japan's Financial Services Agency (FSA), jointly with the National Police Agency, again asked the Japan Virtual and Crypto assets Exchange Association to further strengthen measures preventing fraud carried out using crypto assets. The FSA cites the reason: despite various measures at financial institutions, criminal methods have grown more complex and sophisticated, damage to crypto exchange customers is expanding, and there are cases where proceeds of "tokushu sagi" (special fraud, e.g. impersonation scams) are remitted to accounts at crypto exchanges. In short, bank-side controls alone have not closed the route by which stolen funds reach crypto accounts. Eleven measures were requested: (1) stronger fraud prevention and fact-finding at account opening; (2) confirmation and warnings to prevent fraud damage; (3) restricting crypto withdrawals for a set period after fiat deposits or crypto purchases; (4) a pre-registration system for withdrawal destinations, plus a withdrawal hold for a period after registration; (5) appropriate withdrawal limits; (6) stronger transaction monitoring and access-environment monitoring; (7) faster customer confirmation, transaction restrictions and account freezes after suspicious activity is detected; (8) stronger authentication where impersonation is suspected; (9) checking that the remitter's name matches the crypto account holder's name; (10) sharing information on detection triggers, actual conditions and better countermeasures; (11) stronger information provision to and cooperation with the police. Previously the focus was identity verification at onboarding plus after-the-fact monitoring. What is different now is the explicit call for time-delay and pre-registration brakes — funds cannot be moved right after they arrive, and the destination must be registered in advance. The request goes to the industry association; each exchange decides actual timing, hold periods and limits.
For foreign residents in Japan, opening an account gets harder first. The request includes "stronger fraud prevention and fact-finding at account opening," so expect more questions about the purpose of your trading and the origin of your funds, on top of ID documents such as your residence card. Second, timing changes. After a fiat deposit or a crypto purchase, withdrawals to outside wallets are held for a set period, and destination addresses must be pre-registered. "Buy today, send to my family back home today" will no longer work. If you use crypto instead of a bank remittance, schedule with a buffer. Third, the list includes "checking that the remitter's name matches the crypto account holder's name." Foreign residents whose names appear inconsistently in romaji, katakana or kanji should make sure the registered name on the bank account and on the exchange account are written identically — otherwise deposits may be held or returned. Finally, transaction restrictions and account freezes after suspicious activity are to be applied faster. Accepting an unexplained incoming transfer, or sending crypto because someone asked you to, can get your own account frozen. If confirmation contact arrives in Japanese and you miss it, the freeze lasts longer — keep your registered email and phone number current.
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