Cash will continue to “play an important role in the future,” the Bank of Japan governor said, adding that as long as there is demand for banknotes, the bank will continue to offer them.
Japan on Wednesday put into circulation its first new banknotes in 20 years, redesigned to increase security and prevent counterfeiting by integrating cutting-edge holographic technology.
“This is a time when cashless payments are making progress, but cash is a payment method that anyone can use at any time, safely. Is will continue to play an important role in the future“BoJ Governor Kazuo Ueda said at a ceremony at the central bank’s headquarters to mark the occasion.
As long as there is demand for banknotes, the bank will continue to offer them, he added.
The notes incorporate advances in holographic technology to make the portraits appear three-dimensional, and are the same size as previous notes, although the value numbers have been printed larger and are more easily identifiable by touch to make them easier for blind people to use.
Japanese banks began distributing the new 10,000, 5,000 and 1,000 yen notes earlier in the day, causing queues at some branches.
The central bank distributed 1.6 billion yen (about 9.2 billion euros) in new banknotes to institutions.
The new 10,000 yen note (about 58 euros) bears the image of Eiichi Shibusawa, considered the “father of Japanese capitalism” and whose achievements include the creation of the first national bank of Japan, while the reverse, which has undergone its first renovation since 1984, features an image of the iconic Tokyo train station.
The 5,000 yen note (about 29 euros) now bears the effigy of Umeko Tsuda, founder of Tsuda Women’s University, known for her activism in favour of the study of English among women, and the reverse features an image of wisteria in bloom.
The new 1,000 yen note (about six euros) features the face of Shibasaburo Kitasato, a pioneer of Japanese medicine who contributed to the prevention and treatment of infectious diseases around the world, including the development of serotherapy, and who is credited with identifying the bacteria responsible for the plague.
On the reverse of this last banknote appears the famous engraving “The Great Wave off Kanagawa”, by the artist Hokusai.
“After 30 years of deflation and at a time when the Japanese economy is in the midst of transforming into a new phase, These new banknotes are worthy of the era, symbols of those who contributed to capitalism and innovation.“said Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida at the event.
“I hope that these new banknotes will be familiar to the Japanese people and will serve to revive the Japanese economy,” he added.
The introduction of the new banknotes into circulation was not without some commercial setbacks in the country, as it required the acquisition of new automatic machines – widely used in restaurants and beverage establishments – capable of processing the new paper money, with the consequent costs.
The redesign of the banknotes was announced in April 2019, coinciding with the publication of the name of the new era in which Japan finds itself, Reiwa, which began with the accession to the throne of Emperor Naruhito, following the abdication of his father, Akihito.
Source: Observadora
