This Japanese politician is crowdfunding a personal trip to the US to study Bitcoin

Mineyuki Fukuda, a member of Japan’s House of Representatives, has taken a novel approach to fund an overseas Bitcoin research tour. The Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) lawmaker and head of the central government’s IT Strategy Committee has launched a crowdfunding campaign that will send him to the US as a private citizen – without using taxpayer funds – to author a report on American Bitcoin businesses.

According to Coindesk, Fukuda is a staunch supporter of the cryptocurrency who often invites members of the Bitcoin community to his office. Despite the fact that Japan doesn’t recognize Bitcoin as a currency, his campaigning led to the establishment of the country’s first Bitcoin business advocacy group – the Japan Authority of Digital Asset (JADA).

Fukuda’s crowdfunding campaign is taking place on Japan’s own ShootingStar platform, which Coindesk ironically points out does not accept Bitcoin. His goal is to raise JPY 600,000 yen (US$5,770), of which JPY 142,000 (US$1,365) has already been pledged by eight supporters. The campaign has 28 days remaining.

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A JPY 1,000 (US$9.60) donation will earn the backer a copy of Fukuda’s report and JPY 3,000 (US$29) will land you an invitation to a public Bitcoin discussion plus a three-minute private conversation with Fukuda himself. At the highest tier, JPY 50,000 (US$480) gets you a tour of the LDP headquarters and the National Diet building with Fukuda as a guide.

The Japanese general public appears largely apathetic when it comes to Bitcoin, if not wary after the collapse of Tokyo-based and (foreigner-founded) Bitcoin exchange Mt. Gox. Still, new exchanges – like Kraken, a founding member of JADA – are rising from the ashes.

(Source: Coindesk)