Japan’s Plans for Digital Currency

Ryozo Himino, Deputy Governor of the Bank of Japan, recently spoke about the singleness of money and the role of central banks ¹. In his speech he noted the divergent approaches being taken by the US and Europe (GENIUS Act and the digital euro), stating that they may not serve as a model for Japan to follow given that they are heading in different directions, limiting the room for global consensus standards to emerge. Also, unlike the dollar, the yen is not the world’s key currency and Japan is an individual nation state with its own currency that is not a tool for regional integration.

Japan was the first country to introduce stablecoin legislation and has a CBDC pilot program. Whichever route Japan goes, trade-offs and choices will be needed. He noted how many countries are now advising the holding of cash as well as introducing legislation to support cash.