The conclusive decision on the future development of a digital yet has not yet been reached. For the time being, cash remains the main method of payment in Japan.
The final step to launch the digital yen will be depending on support from the public, said Kazushige Kamiyama, who is head of the payment systems department at the Bank of Japan, responsible for exploring the possibility of issuing a digital currency. Future digital yen would aim to strengthen the ecosystem of transactions and to supplement cash and non-cash payments, not replace them.
“We have made it very clear that cash and the potential digital currency will coexist,” Kamiyama noted.
He shared that no decision has yet been made for issuance of the digital yen. This act will largely depend on the Japanese public. Meanwhile, cash remains the main means of payment in Japan.
Kamiyama highlighted that the central bank would be launching the digital yen to improve the efficiency of Japan’s payment systems, and not to stimulate the monetary policy. To expand public access to the new digital currency, the role of intermediaries could be given to fintech companies. Currently, the regulator is discussing whether they should acquire a special license for their role.
The Bank of Japan must not fall too much behind the People’s Bank of China, which aims to become the first big central bank in the world to issue its own digital currency, Kamiyama said.
