The new “digital yen”, the future cryptocurrency of Japan, is now the “main priority” of the country and it should Tokyo cope with the economic crisis that emerged as a direct result of the COVID-19 worldwide pandemic.
The General Director of the Bank of Japan, Takeshi Kimura, told in an interview for the new edition of The Asahi Shimbun that the release and development of the digital yen is the “main task” currently for the central bank.
Since February, high-ranking Japanese lawmakers have called on the government to begin actively researching this topic and exploring Japan`s options.
Thus, the country began looking into the field of central bank digital currency (CBDC), since the neighbours China and South Korea are making big steps and leading the way in this sphere. China is already testing the digital yuan in a few applications, government centres and retail stores, and South Korea is planning to launch its pilot tests at the beginning of the next year.
Last month, the Bank of Japan issued a statement that it plans to carry out a comprehensive technical and economic justification of the digital yen. The bank’s position states that “the ideal” CBDC has to ensure financial accessibility to citizens, no matter their location or economic situation, including availability and ability to work with smartphones.
In addition, it must work without fail during natural disasters, for example, tsunamis and earthquakes, which, unfortunately, are a regular occurrence in Japan.
In June, the representative of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party declared that the global leadership of China in the development of CBDC could become a threat to the nationalist security of Japan. However, in the face of countries such as Japan and the Philippines, China may discover worthy competitors.
