Recently, a group of large Japanese companies including Mitsubishi, Fujitsu, and the banking giant Mizuho, agreed to work together to create a “Metaverse Economic Zone” for the country, with the aim of building open metaverse infrastructure.
According to a recent press release, the group will be guided by the aim of former Square Enix executive and Hajime Tabata, CEO of JP Games to “update Japan through the power of games.”
Sources reveal that companies that have signed the agreement will have to integrate their technologies and services, including gamification and fintech, to build the technical infrastructure. The project is currently called Ryugukoku.
The participating companies revealed that the new infrastructure will be used for information dissemination, marketing, and workstyle for domestic enterprises. Users will be able to engage in a realistic experience as they travel through different realms. The service could also be extended beyond Japan to other jurisdictions and governments.
Reportedly, Mizuho is responsible for the development of infrastructure of “metaverse coins,” whereas Mitsubishi will give the resources for “Web3-type metaverse financial functions” and Sompo Japan will work on insurance and risk policy development for the Web3 era.
This project reflects the pioneering roles of the established players in attempts to create an open metaverse infrastructure. The firms envision the project to allow interoperability or the ability to port assets and characters across multiple virtual worlds run by different companies.
The Open Metaverse Alliance (OMA) will be governed by a decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) and has been in progress since 2021. The big tech-heavy Metaverse Standards Forum, backed by the Khronos Group, is also attempting to accelerate the adoption of blanket rules for the online space. Its founding members included the likes of Meta and Microsoft.
In November, Todayq News reported that Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (MUFG) announced its plans to enter into the metaverse. The plan is being executed in collaboration with the upcoming digital platform of ANA Holdings, INC. a holding company, which provides domestic and international air transportation services. As per projected figures, the upcoming platform named ANA Granwhale is expected to begin operations with an approximate user base of 38 million and will be operational in 2023.
Japan has made the use of metaverse for varied purposes. Reportedly, utilizing resources from the metaverse, Toda City in Japan tried to tackle the issue of student absenteeism from class. The kids can visit a virtual university and take virtual lessons in this digital realm to get ready for returning to regular classes. At least, this is the hope of city officials, who have also suggested that if the principal agrees, these metaverse classes might be counted as regular school hours.