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

Feb 18 (ANNnewsCH) - 日銀は研究を進めているデジタル通貨「デジタル円」について、4月から発行の前段階にあたる実証実験を民間の金融機関などと行うと発表しました。  ...continue reading