Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi faces scrutiny over SANAE TOKEN crypto and defamation video scandal

Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi has been repeatedly questioned by opposition lawmakers about two linked controversies. In the House of Representatives budget committee on 22 June, she denied any approval or endorsement of the cryptocurrency “SANAE TOKEN”, stating that neither she nor her office had authorized its issuance or trading. She added that a senior staff member had only heard the token mentioned in a broad‑audience app and had not been involved in its operation.

At the same hearing, Takaichi also avoided direct answers concerning a defamation video allegedly produced by an IT firm that targeted political rivals, replying that she had been working so long that she “has had almost no sleep”. Critics have called her responses evasive. In a separate episode, a Liberal Democratic Party member asked her if she could “file a fish into three pieces”, prompting a brief, awkward reply that highlighted her lack of experience with such tasks. The incidents have intensified calls for clearer accountability and possible regulatory action on crypto assets in Japan.