© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: Japanese yen banknotes are seen in this illustrative image taken September 23, 2022. REUTERS/Florence Lo/Illustration
By Leika Kihara
TOKYO (Reuters) – The Bank of Japan (BOJ) said on Friday it had decided to launch a pilot program in April to issue a digital yen, moving one step closer to launching a central bank digital currency (CBDC) in a country that is lagging. in the digitization of their payment systems.
The widely expected move will follow two years of experiments the central bank has been conducting to decide whether to issue a CBDC.
“Our hope is that the pilot program will lead to improved designs through discussions with private companies,” BOJ Executive Director Shinichi Uchida said in opening remarks at the central bank’s meeting with private sector executives.
While it was up to the public to decide whether to actually issue a digital yen, the BOJ will “continue to make extensive preparations” when circumstances lead to the launch of a CBDC, the central bank said in a statement.