Chinese tech giant Alibaba will open a blockchain laboratory in Japan next month in an effort to push Web3 adoption in the country. 



The lab will be a collaboration between Tokyu Land Corporation and Skeleton Crew Studio and will enable game developers to learn about new blockchain technology and explore business opportunities. Skeleton Crew Studio specializes in virtual reality gaming.



In addition, Alibaba Cloud will launch a blockchain node service in Japan later in the year. The plan is to offer a more user-friendly experience for developers using Alibaba’s cloud infrastructure. 



At present, the incubation center will only be open to a small group of existing customers who are currently working on projects with Alibaba.



Alibaba Cloud Planning Hackathon



The tech firm is also planning a hackathon in collaboration with Hash Key, the Hong Kong-based digital asset finance company. The first stage of which will start on April 2 in Tokyo. 



Unique Song, Country Manager, Alibaba Cloud Japan, said: “The strength of content development and cross-industry digital technology, especially in the gaming space, is creating more opportunities in Japan with a thriving Web3 community. We want to provide technology platforms, intelligence tools, and encourage customers and developers to build their own applications in areas such as games, metaverses and social media.”



Japan has been playing catch up with its Asian neighbors recently in terms of Web3 adoption.  Finance group Nomura announced last November it would offer crypto trading to institutional clients early this year. 



The group is also building a team to help other companies enter the metaverse. Specifically, it is thinking of ways to use its investment banking knowledge to help companies raise money and navigate regulations. And the government, too, is keen on leveraging Web3 and the metaverse to boost the economy. Prime Minister Fumio Kishida also spoke of the importance of expanding the social integration of these technologies last October.
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