Legal Issues and Solutions thereof relating to Blockchain Technology

Abstract

Although there is no established definition of blockchain technology and distributed ledger technology (DLT), it is generally said that DLT refers to a technology in which a large number of participants share the same ledger while avoiding discrepancies between ledgers and double transfers, etc., and that blockchain technology refers to one of the technologies for the purpose. The blockchain itself is just a tool, and fundamentally, legal problems do not arise in itself.

Therefore, we should analyze business schemes, rights and obligations, application of laws such as civil law and business law for each case.

In this paper, we discuss legal issues relating to smart contract and several tokens under the current Japanese law.