Memecoin named after Japan’s Prime Minister plummets by 60% following controversy., 2026/03/04 13:04:21

The meme coin Sanae Token plummeted nearly 60% — from $0.0137 to $0.0058 — following a statement from Japan’s Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, who asserted that she has no connection to the project. The politician emphasized that the token’s developers did not obtain permission to use her name.

The creators of the meme coin, the Japan is Back project, publicly apologized to the politician after her announcement. By Wednesday, March 4, the token’s market capitalization had decreased from $27.72 million to $6 million. Users began to withdraw their funds en masse after the project team announced plans to change the cryptocurrency’s name and compensate token holders.

Japan is Back stated that the issues arose due to “communication difficulties” with Takaichi’s office. Previously, the developers claimed they had discussed collaboration with her administration and the organization “Team Sanae Will Change Japan.”

The Sanae Token was launched on February 25 on the Solana network as part of the “Japan’s Return Plan” initiative. The project is implemented by the NoBorder DAO community, founded by entrepreneur Yuji Mizoguchi. The token’s website featured Takaichi’s name and a caricature image of her. Mizoguchi later stated in a YouTube show that the project team was connected to the politician’s circle, after which the token’s price began to rise rapidly.

On March 2, Sanae Takaichi publicly denied any association with Sanae Token. Following the Prime Minister’s statement, Japan’s Financial Services Agency (FSA) initiated an investigation into the meme coin and its creators. The regulator aims to determine whether the issuer obtained a license to operate with crypto assets. If not, the developers could face a fine of up to 5 million yen or imprisonment for up to five years.

Previously, the FSA proposed to classify cryptocurrencies as financial products to apply a fixed tax rate of 20% to them.