Exclusive Interview with Astar Founder: Sounding the Web3 Call for Japan, the "Sony Chain" Set for Major Upgrade
TechFlow Selected TechFlow Selected
Exclusive Interview with Astar Founder: Sounding the Web3 Call for Japan, the "Sony Chain" Set for Major Upgrade
What's Astar's secret to gaining supporters like Sony and Samsung?
Navigating Web3 tides with focused insightsInterview: Zen, PANews
Article: Zen, PANews
During its "lost thirty years," Japan missed the wave of internet-era entrepreneurship, failing to produce even a single domestic internet giant. In 2023, its GDP was surpassed by Germany’s, dropping Japan to the world's fourth-largest economy. Having fully recognized past missteps, the Japanese government began relaxing its cryptocurrency policies last year in an effort to catch up with the new wave of Web3.0.
Thanks to more lenient regulations and reduced regulatory uncertainty, many large Japanese corporations have started actively participating in the Web3 space. The capital and R&D capabilities they bring will play a significant role in advancing the development and adoption of Web3 technologies. As numerous traditional Japanese enterprises enter Web3, Astar Network—the largest public blockchain in Japan—frequently appears. Recently, Astar made a major move by forming a joint venture with Sony and announcing plans to launch a new chain dubbed "Sony Chain," aiming to rival Base.
On the occasion of Astar Network founder Sota Watanabe’s recent visit to China, PANews conducted an exclusive interview. During the conversation, Sota shared his personal journey and the evolution of the Astar project, also revealing some details about the much-anticipated "Sony Chain."
Sota Watanabe: Entrepreneurial Journey and Global Exploration
Before the pandemic, Sota, who had just founded Astar Network (then known as Plasm Network), frequently visited China, leaving footprints in cities such as Beijing, Shanghai, and Hangzhou. Years later, upon returning to China, Sota and Astar are no longer newcomers. Today, Astar is Japan’s largest public blockchain, and Sota himself has become a well-known entrepreneur in the Web3 industry, serving as a director of the Blockchain Association of Japan. On the day of the interview, Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) announced it would begin recruiting companies for its “2025 Demonstration Project for Building Digital Public Goods Using Web3 and Blockchain,” with Sota joining as an advisor involved in system and policy design.
“As an entrepreneur, seeing the world firsthand is crucial. When making long-term strategic decisions—especially regarding cryptocurrencies, which are decentralized—we need to collaborate with people from different countries,” said Sota, who had just returned from Mexico and stopped briefly in Japan before arriving in China.
In fact, during his university years, Sota began traveling the world, witnessing firsthand issues like poverty and discrimination. After observing global inequalities, he once joined a nonprofit organization. “I could bring happiness to ten people right in front of me, but there were so many others beyond my reach. However, through internet technology, we can extend our impact. When I decided to start a company, I considered whether to focus on artificial intelligence or blockchain, and ultimately chose the latter because it empowers people.”
What’s Astar’s Secret to Winning Support from Sony, Samsung, and Others?
In early 2022, Astar Network launched its mainnet and listed on major exchanges including Binance, OKX, and Upbit, entering a phase of business expansion. From this point, Astar focused on developing within Japan and gradually secured backing from multiple traditional and Web3 industry giants.
Astar first partnered with NTT Docomo, Japan’s leading telecom operator, and received sponsorship from automotive giant Toyota for its Astar Network hackathon. After establishing itself in Japan, Astar expanded overseas, securing investments from Samsung and United Overseas Bank, and became the first user of Polygon’s new “AggLayer” technology, launching Astar zkEVM—a Layer 2 solution built on Ethereum. Astar zkEVM has already attracted several prominent enterprises and entrepreneurs, including Deloitte Tohmatsu, which is developing a baseball-themed NFT game on the platform, and Yoake, a new entertainment company co-founded by Akimoto Yasushi (creator of AKB48 and Nogizaka46), which plans to build entertainment content and idol economies within the ecosystem.
The most significant corporate partner for Astar Network is Sony, a diversified conglomerate with businesses in electronics, semiconductors, entertainment, and finance. In February 2023, Sony Network Communications, a division of Sony Group, partnered with Astar Network to launch a Web3 incubation program. Cooperation deepened over time: months later, Startale Labs—the company behind Astar—received a $3.5 million investment from Sony Network Communications. Then, in September 2023, the two parties established a joint subsidiary named “Sony Network Communications Labs Pte. Ltd.” According to BizFile records, Sony Network Communications’ stake in Startale Labs has been transferred into the newly formed group entity, indicating that the “Sony Chain” project has gained elevated strategic importance, likely receiving increased funding and access to broader Sony resources.
During the interview, Sota shared Astar’s key strategies for business development. “Many people overly focus on technology—starting with tech and then thinking about user experience. We believe you should start with user experience and then build the technology.” He noted that nearly all major computer hardware and software innovations originated in the U.S., while Asian countries—particularly China, Japan, and South Korea—excel at commercializing imported technologies. “This commercialization mindset is an Asian advantage,” he said. “Another strategy is narrative.” Japan’s economy has stagnated for three decades, and Web3, as the next wave of IT innovation, has become a trend the government must invest in. “The Japanese government and people share this narrative, so I can easily communicate with officials, corporate leaders, and entrepreneurs—we’re all aligned.”
Aspiring to Be a Global Project—It Starts with Ourselves
Nonetheless, Sota doesn’t want to limit Astar to Japan alone. His trip to China was primarily to discuss potential collaborations with several well-known Chinese internet companies. “We’re not satisfied yet. Japan is an important market, but we aim to be a global project, expanding across Asia and especially entering the U.S. market.”
“My mission is to popularize Web3,” Sota said. Cryptocurrency and Web3 currently reach only about 3% of the global population. This is a growth game, and the goal is to bring the remaining 97% into the ecosystem. Astar plans to leverage partnerships with Sony and other corporations to onboard millions onto blockchain. “We want to drive Japan’s economy and lead the Web3 industry—that’s what Astar and Sony are working toward.” Yet even with global ambitions, success at home remains paramount. Sota admitted that while the Japanese government strongly supports them, as Japanese entrepreneurs, they must achieve tangible results—such as ranking among the top five or ten projects globally—or the narrative won’t hold. “So it ultimately depends on us.”
Backed by Sony’s Entertainment Empire, How Much Can We Expect from ‘Sony Chain’?
Today, competition among public blockchains is fierce, and maintaining even a modest foothold is challenging. Launching “Sony Chain” at this stage will undoubtedly face many hurdles. When asked about its core competitiveness, Sota emphasized that Sony, as a corporate giant, possesses a vast and influential entertainment ecosystem spanning film, gaming, music, and more—whereas Coinbase is a crypto company and Telegram is a social network. “With Sony’s resources and influence, we can truly onboard billions unfamiliar with Web3 into this ecosystem. Just like people use the internet at coffee shops without knowing TCP/IP or HTTP protocols—we aim to make blockchain similarly invisible and seamless through collaboration with Sony.”
Sony’s cameras, audiovisual devices, game consoles, and TVs enjoy high recognition and popularity. In China, the phrase “Sony does it best” has even become a kind of fan mantra, reflecting deep brand loyalty. This often leads people to view Sony solely as a consumer electronics brand. In reality, Sony has extensive influence in entertainment—having acquired iconic IPs like Spider-Man and produced global hits such as *Demon Slayer* through its subsidiary Aniplex. According to financial reports, Sony’s gaming and network services, music, and film divisions together accounted for nearly 60% of the group’s total revenue in fiscal year 2023.
Aligned with Sony’s strong emphasis on cultural IP, Sota said one of “Sony Chain”’s core strategies is to integrate a wide range of intellectual properties and implement revenue-sharing models, exploring new ways for Web3 projects and IP holders to collaborate on blockchain. “The business model isn’t fully settled yet, but blockchain allows us to ensure authenticity.” He added that “Sony Chain” will initially deploy Web3 projects and, over time, expand into gaming, music, and other areas.
“But we’ll prioritize user experience—not just minting NFTs and doing simple trades. User experience is critical. Users shouldn’t need to know whether they’re using Web3 or Web2—that’s the ideal experience we aim to deliver,” Sota added. While he couldn’t disclose further details about “Sony Chain” at this time, he revealed to PANews that major updates will be announced in August, and Astar will undergo a brand refresh and reach new milestones in the coming months.
Leveraging Established Giants’ Broad Touchpoints to Accelerate Mass Adoption
Today’s Web3 industry faces a paradox: on one hand, there’s a strong desire for mass adoption; on the other, the space is rife with fraud, asset risks, and excessive speculation. Sota believes that both U.S. regulators and certain Japanese politicians view crypto as merely a gambling tool due to current market conditions. “Through real-world use cases, we must prove ourselves and convince policymakers and regulators that crypto is more than just a speculative instrument,” he said. Industry participants must offer solutions that genuinely improve people’s lives. Cryptocurrency shouldn’t be a privilege for the wealthy—it should also benefit marginalized and underserved communities.
Regarding mass adoption, Sota noted that Web3 technology itself won’t be the sole reason Japanese companies adopt it—Web3 is no longer the differentiating factor. “Actual benefits and user experience matter more. We’re not talking about blockchain—we’re talking about solutions that improve user experience.”
Sota cited Microsoft’s rise with IBM and later support for OpenAI as examples. He stressed that achieving mass adoption requires leveraging existing assets and touchpoints, because new Web3 companies alone cannot reach billions of users overnight—it would take decades. “Therefore, Web3 must harness established corporations and their products to achieve scale. They have a unique advantage in bringing blockchain into the mainstream.”
Join TechFlow official community to stay tuned
Telegram:https://t.me/TechFlowDaily
X (Twitter):https://x.com/TechFlowPost
X (Twitter) EN:https://x.com/BlockFlow_News
PANews
