Public Recording Vol.3: Is it Safe if it's 'Lawyer Approved'? How Web3 Businesses Should Engage with Lawyers (Special Edition of 'So That's How Blockchain Works')

Special Edition of 'So That's How Blockchain Works'

In this podcast, Yoshihiko Uchida, who has a background in banking supervision at the Bank of Japan and the Financial Services Agency, and currently teaches blockchain at Shunan University, Yuya Sakai, a founder of a gourmet app who has built a Web3 business by combining blockchain with Web2 services, and Shinya Otsuga, deputy editor-in-chief of the crypto media "Atarashii Keizai," introduce what you need to know about blockchain today.

In this special edition, we present the recording of Public Recording Vol.3 held on October 1. We welcomed guest lawyer Haru Yuuya from AZX Law Office, and discussed the theme of "How to Engage with Lawyers in Blockchain Business."

"If a lawyer says it's okay, can we proceed with the business?" and "Is it safe if it says 'Lawyer Approved'?" Starting from these questions, we delved into the roles of lawyers at different stages of business and the prerequisites to confirm when receiving legal opinions and views. We also discussed the difficulty of judging solely based on a lawyer's background and title, and the importance of business operators making their own judgments.

Furthermore, the conversation expanded from the question of "Why do we need to obey the law?" to how to perceive "legal hacks" and the "updating" of legal systems. We considered the responsibility in transactions using AI agents and smart contracts, as well as the perception gap between Web3 businesses and existing finance.

We also answered questions from the audience about how lawyers can discern whether businesses aim for updates in legal systems or are looking for loopholes.

In the latter part, we discussed the difficulty of reading terms of service and the role of trust and reputation in companies and services.

The next episode, which will mark the start of Part 3, is scheduled to be released on November 10. We will explain the theme of Part 3: "Identity Verification × Finance = Incentivization." Additionally, we are planning Public Recording Vol.4 in December. Please wait for further announcements regarding details.

Listen to the Podcast

You can listen to the program from the following links. Please press the play button (wait about 10 seconds after clicking).

• Listen on "Apple Podcast"
• Listen on "Spotify"
• Listen on "Voicy"
• Listen on "YouTube"

Previous Episodes

You can listen to all previously released episodes from the following links.

• Listen to all previous episodes
• Listen to Part 1 (from Ep.0 to Ep.12, including Public Recording Vol.1)
• Listen to Part 2 (from Ep.13 to Ep.22, including Public Recording Vol.3)

Participants

Yoshihiko Uchida: Worked at the Bank of Japan from 1994 to 2023. Held various positions including financial researcher and planning officer, and group leader in the Financial Institutions Bureau. He has contributed to risk management and management of financial institutions from various perspectives. During this time, he also worked at the Financial Services Agency, Osaka University, and the University of Tokyo. From June to November 2023, he served as a director at Questree Co., Ltd., and from April to December 2024, he will serve as a director at Kashei, participating as a manager in a Web3 startup. Currently, he is a professor at the Faculty of Information Science at Shunan University (since June 2023) and is also promoting businesses related to digital ID and electronic signatures as an outside director at Cyberlinks Co., Ltd. (from March 2024) and consulting related to blockchain utilization as the representative director of Yuidzumu Co., Ltd. (from October 2025).

X Account: https://x.com/uchida_tomato

Yuya Sakai: Co-founded SARAH Co., Ltd. during his student days. In addition to Japan's largest menu-focused gourmet app "SARAH," he built a big data service for the restaurant industry called "FoodDataBank" for major food manufacturers. As COO, he led fundraising of 1 billion yen and M&A, PMI. Since 2019, he has been leading the Web3 transformation of SARAH. He developed a Layer 1 unique blockchain called "ONIGIRI Chain" focused on food and healthcare data management and built a token economy. After stepping down as representative director in 2025, he became independent. Currently, he is engaged in consulting focused on the social implementation of blockchain utilization and Web3 businesses.

X Account: https://x.com/skyuya03

Interviewer: Shinya Otsuga, Deputy Editor-in-Chief of Atarashii Keizai

Official X of 'So That's How Blockchain Works': https://x.com/soublock
Official Site of 'So That's How Blockchain Works': https://soublock.com/