Japan’s Financial Services Agency (FSA) is conducting voluntary interviews with the company that issued SANAE TOKEN on the Solana blockchain on 25 February 2026. The token was created by an organization called NoBorder DAO as part of a “Japan is Back” campaign, using the name and image of Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi without her consent. On 2 March, Takaichi said in a post on X that has more than 63 million views: “I have nothing to do with this token, and my office has not received a single yen.”
After Takaichi’s public denial, SANAE TOKEN plunged 58% — from a market cap of $27.7 million at its peak on 25 February to $62,000 by 4 March. Token liquidity fell to $25,000. The token-sale structure raised further questions: 65% of the tokens were reserved for project operators.
The FSA is now poised to open a criminal investigation: preliminary data suggest the token operator did not hold a cryptocurrency exchange licence. Under Japan’s Payment Services Act, issuing and selling crypto assets without FSA registration can carry up to five years’ imprisonment or a fine of up to ¥5 million.
