PANews reported on December 14 that according to Cryptonews, Japanese lawmaker Satoshi Hamada proposed that the government launch a national Bitcoin reserve, and mentioned that the United States and Brazil are taking similar actions. It is recommended that the Japanese government "consider converting part of its foreign exchange reserves into virtual currencies such as Bitcoin." Hamada also pointed out in his proposal that Bitcoin is "less affected by specific countries or institutions." Bitcoin's "neutrality and decentralized nature" can support economic activities without relying on any specific currency. The government is expected to respond to Hamada's questions in writing in the coming weeks and may publish them publicly on its official website.