Japan needs to adapt its laws to issue a central bank digital currency, according to a local financial official. Kozo Yamamoto, head of the Liberal Democratic Party’s council on financial affairs and a former official at the Ministry of Finance, believes that Japan must revise a law stipulating the Bank of Japan’s (BoJ) mandate and responsibilities regarding the development of a CBDC. According to an Oct. 12 Reuters report, Yamamoto said that potential amendments to the BoJ law would be a good opportunity to consider other changes like adding job creation to the central bank’s mandate. The official also stated …

The Bank for International Settlements (BIS), in collaboration with a group of seven central banks, published its first joint report into central bank digital currencies on Oct. 9, focusing on the foundational principles and core features of CBDCs. Alongside the report, the Bank of Japan, one of the members of the group, released a document outlining its own specific approach to CBDCs from a Japan-centric perspective. According to the BoJ report, it will begin the first of several testing phases for its own CBDC sometime in 2021. This will include the development of a test environment for the currency and …

Japanese banking officials continue to voice concern over China’s progress in the development of its central bank digital currency. Kenji Okamura, vice-finance minister for Japan’s international affairs, warned the global community of the potential risks of China’s digital yuan, Reuters reported Oct. 9. Okamura said that China’s digital yuan initiative is “moving at a relatively fast pace” as the Chinese government presumably aims to be the first global jurisdiction to adopt a CBDC. “First-mover advantage is something we should be afraid of,” Okamura said at a digital seminar backed by the Official Monetary and Financial Institutions Forum, adding: This advantage …

With Central Bank Digital Currencies a point of focus across the globe, a number of countries' banking authorities have jointly produced a document discussing the currency type at length. The Bank for International Settlements told Cointelgraph in a statement that a group of seven central banks and the BIS had collaborated on the report, "identifying the foundational principles necessary for any publicly available CBDCs to help central banks meet their public policy objectives." The BIS is a global institution helping out national central banks. CBDCs have been a hot topic in 2020, with a number of countries expressing interest in …

The Bank of Japan has appointed its top economist to lead a team tasked with accelerating its research into central bank digital currencies (CBDC). According to a July 31 Reuters report, Kazushige Kamiyama’s appointment may mark a shift away from the bank’s previously cautious nature on digital currencies. Kamiyama had previously led the bank's efforts to use big data for conducting econometric analysis in real time. According to Reuters, this proved helpful when the Japanese economy was hit by the coronavirus epidemic earlier this year. Stepping up the pace of research Despite maintaining its position that it has no immediate …

In April, the Japanese government began distributing 100,000 yen payments — about $930 — to every household. But did the Japanese follow some in the United States and spend that money in crypto exchanges? The data from the three major crypto exchanges in Japan suggests they probably did not. In his latest report, Yuya Hasegawa, a market analyst at Bitbank exchange notes some “irregularities” in the month of June in terms of deposits but overall concludes that the coronavirus relief payments did not result in significant changes to the behavior of Japanese crypto investors. There were some changes to normal. …

The Bank of Japan announced on July 20 that it had formed a new team to accelerate research into the feasibility of central bank digital currencies (CBDC). The team takes over from a previous group formed earlier this year, and will also continue research work undertaken with other central banks. BoJ said it does not currently have plans to issue its own CBDC, although this could change in the future. BoJ was already conducting research into the feasibility of a national CBDC, and formed a digital currency working group with five other central banks from Canada, the United Kingdom, Sweden, …

Japan is behind the curve on the establishment of a central bank digital currency and should throw its weight behind the United States establishing a digital dollar, says Takaya Nakamura, an executive from Japanese crypto exchange Fisco. The Japanese government is reportedly planning to include consideration of a central bank digital currency (CBDC) in its official economic plan soon but the country is considerably behind China’s efforts with the digital yuan. In the global competition for supremacy in digital currencies, Japan's role should be to urge the United States to take a CBDC more seriously, Nakamura told Cointegraph. “Japan no …

The Japanese government is expected to include consideration of a central bank digital currency (CBDC) in its official economic plan. The news comes 10 days after the Bank of Japan’s announcement that it will start experimenting with the digital yen to check its feasibility from a technical perspective. According to Nikkei, the consideration of CBDC will be included in the Honebuto Plan for Economic and Fiscal Revitalization. The Honebuto Plan is the basis for Japan’s economic and fiscal policy and the report says the Japanese government “will consider a CBDC while coordinating with other countries”. Japan and CBDC After China …

The Bank of Japan has announced it will begin experimenting with a central bank digital currency, or CBDC, to check its feasibility from a technical perspective. The BoJ wants to digitize cash, but it remains to be seen if Japan can catch up with China, which has already begun testing its own CBDC. This is the first time the BoJ has revealed it would commence a proof-of-concept process with the digital yen, but the bank is yet to reveal a timetable. In a report called Technical Hurdles for CBDC, the bank stated it would “check the feasibility of CBDC from …

When macro investor Paul Tudor Jones, or PTJ, confirmed he was investing in Bitcoin, it sparked an uptick for the whole crypto market. Many crypto traders welcomed his surprise move, noting it was a change of the tide in the traditional sector. Speaking at Cointelegraph Japan's Traders Live on June 9th, Takeshi Fujimaki, a former adviser to George Soros, said it was "not a surprise" to hear Jones’ revelation, given the current state of central bank-driven monetary inflation. Fujimaki is a former Japanese lawmaker and known as "Kuroda foe" for his criticism of Bank of Japan Governor, Haruhiko Kuroda. When …

This week’s headlines from Japan included GMO Coin unveiling Basic Attention Token (BAT) lending, Nitori using blockchain for furniture logistics, blockchain solution outfit, Ginco, receiving funding from DBJ Capital, Japan's stay at home order impacting crypto businesses, and a representative from the Japan Restoration Association questioning crypto taxes. Check out some of this week’s crypto and blockchain headlines, originally reported by Cointelegraph Japan. GMO Coin exchange announces BAT lending In an April 10 statement, Japanese crypto exchange, GMO Coin, unveiled lending features for Brave Browser's Basic Attention Token (BAT). The new capability means customers can lend their BAT to other …