By Tom Phillips
A consortium of Japan-based financial services and technology providers is to develop a ‘metaverse economic zone’ where consumers will be able to create a digital twin or ‘auto learning avatar’, access digital experiences and authorise payments to merchants and service providers with a digital authentication credential or ‘multi magic passport’ (MMP).
The zone — currently known as Ryugukoku — will be based on an open metaverse infrastructure that will enable interoperability and collaboration between different metaverse platforms and incorporate elements of online alternative world role-playing games that will allow users to “travel through different realms and encounter a variety of contents and services”, the consortium says.
“Additionally, Ryugukoku will deliver an open and secure metaverse infrastructure that enables safe and stable use of identity authentication, various payments, data infrastructure, insurance etc, through collaboration with leading Japanese financial institutions, major corporations and TBT Lab Group.
“Furthermore, by providing this infrastructure to companies and government agencies outside of Japan, we will be able to expand the ‘Japan metaverse economic zone’ globally.”
Once they have created an auto learning avatar, users will be able to “acquire useful information”, “apply their personalised information in each metaverse space” and create “an authentication certificate with a payment function that allows users to freely travel to and from metaverse services”.
“In addition to ID authentication and payment methods, MMP can register useful information for users to spend time in the virtual world, such as NFT, items, avatar skin and avatar memory. This information will also be used to improve user-friendliness in the real world.”
Partners in the consortium include JCB, Mizuho, MUFG, Resona Holdings, Fujitsu, Sompo Japan, Toppan and TBT Lab Group.
“We will continue to invite a wide range of companies to support this concept and expand the Japanese metaverse economic zone,” the partners say.
