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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).

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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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