How to buy bitcoin in Japan, step by step

What you need before you start

Buying bitcoin in Japan means opening an account with a domestic exchange registered with the Financial Services Agency. Opening one is free and happens entirely on your phone. What slows people down is not the exchange but the paperwork around it, so get these three things ready first.

• Photo ID with an IC chip: your residence card (在留カード, zairyū kādo), My Number card or Japanese driver’s license. The address on it must be your current address.
• A Japanese bank account in your own name: used for yen deposits and withdrawals. Accounts in a partner’s or company’s name won’t work, and yen moves in and out only through Japanese bank accounts.
• A smartphone: for photographing your ID and face, reading the IC chip, receiving SMS codes and running an authenticator app. You also need an email address.

During sign-up you will be asked for your occupation, income range, investment experience and why you want to trade. Japan’s anti-money-laundering law requires exchanges to collect this, and it applies equally to Japanese and foreign customers. Answer plainly and consistently.

Not sure which exchange to pick? Check the list of FSA-registered exchanges to see who is licensed, then compare fees and deposit options in our exchange comparison. This page stays neutral: the steps are almost identical everywhere.

Can foreigners open an account?

If you live in Japan, yes. Exchanges verify identity under the same law for everyone, so a mid- to long-term resident with a residence card and a registered address goes through the same checks as a Japanese citizen. What you can’t do is open an account as a tourist: short-term visitors don’t receive a residence card, and the identity checks depend on Japanese ID and a Japanese address.

Two extra hurdles are worth knowing about. First, some exchanges restrict US persons, so if you are a US citizen or green-card holder, read the terms of service before you start the identity check. Second, since 1 January 2026 every new account holder must file a tax-residence self-certification under the OECD’s Crypto-Asset Reporting Framework (CARF), stating which country you are tax-resident in and, where relevant, your foreign tax identification number. Have it ready.

Don’t assume English support. Availability of English screens and English customer service varies, and identity-check screens in particular may be Japanese only, so check the exchange’s help pages before you choose. The glossary further down covers the words you will see most. For visa types, US-person rules and what happens to your account if you leave, read crypto for foreigners in Japan.

How to buy bitcoin in Japan: 7 steps

Here is the whole process. The sections below go into the details that cause the most failed sign-ups and stuck deposits.

1. Get your documents ready

   Residence card, My Number card or driver’s license; a Japanese bank account in your own name; a smartphone and email address. Make sure the address on your ID is current.

2. Sign up with an FSA-registered exchange

   Use the official app or type the official address yourself rather than tapping an ad. Register with your email and phone number, then enter your name, its katakana reading (フリガナ), address, occupation and purpose of trading.

3. Verify your identity (eKYC)

   Scan the IC chip in your ID or photograph it, then take a selfie or short face video. Some flows finish only when a non-forwardable postcard reaches your address.

4. Turn on two-factor authentication

   Protect log-in, yen withdrawals and crypto sends with an authenticator app. Use a unique password.

5. Deposit yen from your own bank account

   Instant deposit, bank transfer or a convenience-store payment. The sender name must match your exchange account name exactly. Start with a small amount.

6. Buy on the dealer desk or the order book

   The dealer desk is a one-tap purchase; the order book is cheaper. Try a few thousand yen first.

7. Decide where to keep it and save your records

   Leave the coins on the exchange or withdraw to your own wallet (with a Travel Rule declaration). Download your transaction history every year for tax.

Identity verification (eKYC) with a residence card

Online identity checks are called eKYCElectronic know-your-customer: proving who you are online by scanning your ID’s chip or photographing it and taking a selfie, with no branch visit or mailed copies.. Japanese law allows several methods: a photo of your ID plus a selfie; an IC-chip scan of your ID plus a selfie; the My Number card’s digital certificate; or an ID image combined with a postcard sent by non-forwardable registered mail. Your exchange decides which ones it offers.

The IC-chip route is the fastest. You hold your phone against the card and the app reads the data and photo stored on the chip, then compares them with your face. bitbank advertises approval in as little as a minute, GMO Coin trading in as little as ten minutes, and bitFlyer “as little as 9 minutes” on a phone. You may be asked for the card’s PIN during the scan, so have it to hand.

Photo-upload checks are on their way out. Japan promulgated a rule change in June 2025 to abolish identity-check methods with a high impersonation risk, pushing exchanges toward IC-chip scans and the My Number card’s digital certificate. Zaif, for one, announced in October 2026 that it is moving to My Number card verification only. If you are opening an account now, an ID with a working chip is the safe bet.

If your flow uses a postcard, the exchange mails it as non-forwardable mail (転送不要郵便, tensō fuyō yūbin). It will not follow a forwarding request, so it won’t reach you if you have just moved and haven’t updated your residence card, or if your name isn’t on the mailbox. Also check that the address you type matches your ID character for character, including the building name and room number.

Japanese words you will meet on sign-up screens

If the app is in Japanese, these are the words that matter most. Keep this list open on another screen while you sign up.

氏名 / フリガナ

Full name / its katakana reading. Use the same reading your bank uses.

本人確認

Identity verification (the eKYC step)

在留カード

Residence card

職業 / 取引目的

Occupation / purpose of trading

二段階認証

Two-factor authentication

入金 / 出金

Deposit / withdrawal (of yen)

即時入金 / クイック入金

Instant deposit from a partner bank

販売所 / 取引所

Dealer desk / order book

成行 / 指値

Market order / limit order

送付 / 送金

Sending crypto to another address

積立

Recurring purchase (dollar-cost averaging)

Depositing yen: the name has to match

Once you are verified, add yen. There are three main ways: an instant deposit that pulls money from a partner bank’s online banking in minutes, a regular bank transfer to the exchange’s account, or a convenience-store payment. Instant deposits are often free from partner banks. GMO Coin, for example, takes free instant deposits from Japan Post Bank, PayPay Bank and Docomo SMTB Net Bank. Convenience-store payments are easy but cost more: ¥770 for under ¥30,000 at Coincheck.

The rule that catches people out is the name. Exchanges only accept money from an account in your own name, and on a bank transfer the sender name must match the name on your exchange account, normally in katakana. For foreign residents this is where trouble starts: if your bank holds your name in a different order or spelling from the katakana you entered at sign-up, the deposit may not be credited and you lose time and fees getting it returned. Check how your bank writes your name (cash card, passbook or online banking) and register the same reading. Some exchanges ask you to put a customer number in front of your name; that is expected.

Banks are tightening their side too. Bank of Yokohama, Hokkaido Bank, 77 Bank and Ryukyu Bank all say they restrict transfers to crypto exchanges when the sender name differs from the account holder, though adding a number such as your customer code is allowed. Japan Post Bank warns it may restrict accounts after a suspicious transfer to an exchange. Never deposit from someone else’s account, even a spouse’s.

Dealer desk or order book?

Every Japanese exchange app hides two very different shops behind the same logo. Knowing which one you are in is the single biggest factor in what you pay.

On a ¥100,000 purchase sold straight back, the order book costs nothing in trading fees at Coincheck and about ¥100 at GMO Coin. A dealer desk with a 2% spread each way would cost about ¥4,000. Use the dealer desk to learn, then move to the order book once the amounts grow.

Market vs limit orders, and how little you can buy

On the order book you pick an order type. A market orderAn order to buy or sell immediately at the best available price. Fills at once, but you may pay more than expected in a thin market. (成行, nariyuki) buys right now at the best price on offer; it always fills, but in a thin market you might pay more than you expected. A limit orderAn order that names your price and waits. It may never fill, but you never pay more than your limit, and you pay the lower maker fee. (指値, sashine) names your price and waits; it might not fill, but it never overpays and is charged the cheaper maker rate, which is a small rebate at bitbank, GMO Coin and SBI VC Trade.

You never need a whole bitcoin. Minimums depend on the exchange and on which shop you use:

Order-book minimums are in bitcoin, so their yen value moves with the price: at ¥10 million per BTC, 0.0001 BTC is ¥1,000. If you are paid into a Mercari or PayPay balance, the Mercoin review and PayPay guide show how to buy without a bank transfer at all.

Buying a little at a time (積立, tsumitate)

If you can’t decide when to buy, don’t. A recurring purchase plan buys a fixed yen amount every day, week or month, so you automatically buy less when the price is high and more when it is low. The technique is called dollar-cost averagingInvesting a fixed amount at regular intervals instead of all at once, which spreads out your entry price. It reduces timing risk but does not guarantee a profit., and every major Japanese exchange offers some version of it.

↑ The calculator is at the top of this page. Plug in your own numbers.

The plans differ. SBI VC Trade covers 28 coins from ¥500 to ¥2 million, daily, weekly or monthly. GMO Coin also starts at ¥500 with daily, weekly or monthly options. Coincheck’s plan starts at ¥10,000 a month (or about ¥300 a day), can pull money straight from your bank account, and publishes a spread of 0.1–4.0%. OKJ’s plan runs from ¥1,000 to ¥200,000 with no fee, and Zaif’s starts at ¥1,000. Where a plan buys at dealer-desk prices, the spread applies to every purchase, and the calculator above ignores fees, spreads and tax. Past performance says nothing about the future.

Two-factor authentication and scams

Turn on 2FATwo-factor authentication: a one-time code from an app or SMS on top of your password, so a leaked password alone can’t open your account. the moment your account opens, and apply it to log-in, yen withdrawals and crypto sends. An authenticator app is safer than SMS codes. Before you change phones, check how to move the authenticator, or you may lock yourself out.

Scams in Japan target users, not exchanges: fake log-in pages sent by email or SMS, and investment groups on social media or LINE promising guaranteed returns and asking you to transfer money to a personal account or send coins to an address they give you. A real exchange never asks you to pay into an individual’s bank account or send crypto to a support agent.

Registration doesn’t make an exchange immune to hacks: about ¥48.2 billion of bitcoin was stolen from the registered DMM Bitcoin in 2024, and customers were moved to SBI VC Trade. See crypto scams in Japan for the common patterns and where to report them.

Your first withdrawal to a wallet, and the Travel Rule

You can leave your bitcoin on the exchange or move it to a wallet you control. For small, active amounts the exchange is fine; for larger long-term holdings, many people use a hardware wallet. Buy one only from the manufacturer or an authorised reseller, never second-hand or from a marketplace listing.

Since June 2023, Japan’s Travel RuleRules that make exchanges pass the sender’s and recipient’s details along with a crypto transfer. In Japan they have applied since June 2023. requires exchanges to pass sender and recipient details with every transfer between platforms. Exchanges use different messaging systems, so some exchange-to-exchange transfers, including to some platforms abroad, simply aren’t possible. When you send to your own wallet, expect to declare that the address is yours, and sometimes to register it in advance and wait before the first send.

Always send a small test amount first. A wrong character in the address or the wrong network can mean the coins are gone for good. Send fees range from free at SBI VC Trade and GMO Coin to amounts that float with network congestion elsewhere. Our wallet guide explains which wallets Japanese exchanges will send to.

Keep records for tax, from day one

Buying bitcoin with yen and holding it is not taxed. Selling at a profit, swapping into another coin and paying for something with crypto are, according to the National Tax Agency’s crypto FAQ. Gains are usually miscellaneous incomeZatsu shotoku: Japan’s catch-all income category. It is added to your salary and taxed at progressive rates. (雑所得), added to your salary and taxed at 5–45% national income tax plus 10% resident tax, so up to 55%. Losses can’t be set against your salary or carried forward under today’s rules.

If you are an employee paid by one employer and your income outside salary is ¥200,000 or less, you don’t need to file a national tax return for it, though a resident-tax declaration is still required. A flat 20% rate for certain crypto has been written into law, but it is expected to start in 2028 at the earliest. Download your exchange’s annual transaction report (年間取引報告書) every year, and especially before you close an account or leave Japan.

Our Japan crypto tax guide covers the calculation, and moving to or leaving Japan with crypto covers residency changes. For anything specific to your situation, ask your tax office or a licensed tax accountant (zeirishi). When you want to sell, see how to cash out to yen.

How to buy bitcoin in Japan: FAQ

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