Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said she was not involved with the new cryptocurrency ¡°sanae token¡± in on Monday, warning the public about possible misinformation regarding it.
¡°While there appear to be various misunderstandings ¡ª perhaps because of the name ¡ª I have absolutely no knowledge of this token, nor has my office been informed about what it is,¡± Takaichi said in the post. ¡°We have not given any form of approval in relation to this matter. I am issuing this statement to ensure that the public is not misled.¡±
Sanae token is a meme coin that NoBorder ¡ª a YouTube channel featuring political content run by Japanese entrepreneur Yuji Mizoguchi ¡ª announced on Feb. 25 as an incentive token for its project ¡°Japan is Back,¡± a slogan Takaichi inherited from her mentor, former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.
The project aims to ¡°update democracy through new technology¡± using artificial intelligence and Web3, or the concept of a blockchain-based decentralized internet where users own their own data. NoBorder said it chose the name because ¡°sanae¡± symbolizes ¡°a democratically elected leader.¡±
Although the sanae token website carries a disclaimer stating it is ¡°not affiliated with or endorsed by Ms. Takaichi,¡± the project has drawn criticism on social media, with some users calling it ¡°misleading.¡±
Confusion appears to have been compounded after an X account describing itself as the prime minister¡¯s ¡°officially recognized¡± support group reposted NoBorder¡¯s announcement.
¡°Team Sanae empathizes with this initiative and would like to collaborate with our activities,¡± the support group said in its repost.
In the four hours following Takaichi¡¯s statement on X at around 9 p.m., sanae token¡¯s value fell more than 50%.
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