News On Japan

Japan to launch pilot programme for issuing digital yen

TOKYO, Feb 18 (nasdaq.com) - Japan will start a pilot programme in April to test the use of a digital yen, its central bank said on Friday, joining a growing number of countries seeking to catch up with front-runner China in launching a central bank digital currency (CBDC).

The widely expected move follows two years of experiments that the Bank of Japan (BOJ) has been conducting to decide whether to issue a CBDC, and moves Japan closer to issuing a digital yen in several more years.

It also comes ahead of the BOJ's leadership transition to academic Kazuo Ueda, who is expected to succeed incumbent Haruhiko Kuroda. Kuroda's second five-year term ends in April.

Under the pilot programme, the BOJ will conduct simulated transactions with private entities in a test environment, Uchida said. The programme will help the BOJ be ready in case the government decides to issue a digital yen, the bank said. ...continue reading

Source: ANNnewsCH

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Osaka City decided on September 30th to suspend new applications for so-called special zone minpaku, a category of private lodging that has seen a sharp rise in disputes with local residents.

North Safari Sapporo, a private zoo in the southern district of Sapporo, closed its doors on September 30th after 20 years of operation, leaving around 300 animals including lions and wolves without a confirmed relocation plan.

Tokyo is expected to record a high of 22°C on October 1st, marking the first time in 112 days since June 11th that the temperature has fallen below 25°C, with rainfall cooling the air and bringing an end to the long stretch of summer-like days.

Photos of cult founder Shoko Asahara, whose real name was Chizuo Matsumoto and who was executed for his role in the 1995 Tokyo subway sarin attack, are being displayed alongside childhood pictures of his son in facilities linked to Aleph, the successor group to Aum Shinrikyo, according to findings by the Public Security Intelligence Agency (PSIA).

In a September opinion poll conducted by TV Tokyo and the Nihon Keizai Shimbun, former Minister of State for Economic Security Takaichi was the frontrunner with 34% when respondents were asked who they believed should be the next Liberal Democratic Party president.

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