Apr 09 (NHK) - Japan will redesign its banknotes to incorporate the latest anti-forgery techniques. Finance Minister Taro Aso announced the makeover on Tuesday. The design changes will be the first since 2004.
The new 10,000-yen note will feature Eiichi Shibusawa, a famed industrialist in modern Japan. He is known as the "father of Japanese capitalism." The reverse side will feature the Tokyo train station building.
The 5,000-yen note will carry an image of Umeko Tsuda, a pioneer in women's education in Japan. She is the founder of Tsuda University in Tokyo.
The 1,000-yen note will feature bacteriologist Shibasaburo Kitasato. He developed a treatment for tetanus.
The reverse side will feature Japanese ukiyoe master Katsushika Hokusai's work, "In the Well of the Great Wave off Kanagawa." It's one of the most famous woodblock prints in the world.
The new banknotes are expected to enter circulation around 2024, featuring holograms and other cutting-edge techniques to prevent counterfeiting.
The 500-yen coin will also be redesigned around 2021.
The finance minister said banknote designs have been changed once every 20 years or so to prevent counterfeiting. He said the changes were announced now as it takes about five years to prepare the new bills.
Aso also said the three people featured on the new notes each made enormous contributions on issues that remain relevant today and are appropriate for the upcoming new Reiwa era.
Source: ANNnewsCH
