Ripple hosts the mayor of Fukuoka, Japan’s pioneer in web3 adoption
The Ripple CEO shared a photo alongside the tweet that read, “We welcomed Fukuoka Mayor Soichiro Takashima and his team to Ripple HQ today! Fukuoka is a leading city in Web3 initiatives in Japan. Today, the Mayor of Fukuoka Takashima and people from the International Department visited our headquarters Ripple! I have high hopes for Fukuoka City, which is actively working on Web3.”
We welcomed Fukuoka City Mayor Soichiro Takashima and his team at @Ripple HQ today! Fukuoka is a leading city in #Web3 initiatives in Japan 🇯🇵.
本日、福岡市の高島市長と国際部門等の方々がRipple本社を訪問くださいました！Web3に積極的に取り組んでいる福岡市、大変期待しています。👏 pic.twitter.com/IMlrwY7JTY— Emi Yoshikawa (@emy_wng) August 19, 2022
Such a high-profile visit was also reported in May, when Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse met Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili and Deputy Prime Minister Levan Davitashvili during his visit to Davos.
Ripple focus on Asia Pacific
The Asia Pacific (APAC) region continues to be one of the fastest growing regions for Ripple, with transactions up 130% year over year. Uptake of RippleNet’s On-Demand Liquidity (ODL) service has increased in the APAC and MENA regions in response to increased demand for quick settlements and instant access to funds.
In July 2021, Ripple launched the first implementation of its On-Demand Liquidity (ODL) service in Japan, paving the way for further adoption of crypto-enabled services in the region. In a historic move, Ripple partner SBI Remit, the largest money transfer provider in Japan, has teamed up with Coins.ph and SBI VC Trade to transfer remittance payments from Japan to the Philippines using on-demand liquidity.
Ripple seeks to simplify remittances between Japan and Thailand through the new partnership
Ripple’s reach has expanded into Asia Pacific since then. During the week, Ripple announced the launch of a new joint venture with SBI Remit to simplify remittances between Japan and Thailand. Here, SBI Remit will allow Thais living in Japan to send money instantly back home using RippleNet.