New 10,000 yen ($62), 5,000 yen and 1,000 yen banknotes featuring cutting-edge anti-counterfeiting technology began circulating in Japan on Wednesday, the first redesign in two decades as the cash-loving country gradually moves toward a cashless society.
The first batch of the new notes, featuring 3-D holograms of historical figures, will be trucked from the Bank of Japan’s headquarters to financial institutions, and some consumers may start getting the new notes at banks and ATMs as soon as Wednesday. The old notes will remain valid.
![](https://i0.wp.com/img.kyodonews.net/english/public/images/posts/0f51282c0cd14fcb7464cc798d6b87f3/photo_l.jpg?w=749&ssl=1)
Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda speaks at a ceremony to commemorate the issuance of new banknotes at the bank’s headquarters in Tokyo on July 3, 2024. (Representative photo) (Kyodo News)
![](https://i0.wp.com/img.kyodonews.net/english/public/images/posts/265c2763f65ab80e4ceb5ef357b684b7/photo_l.jpg?w=749&ssl=1)
A file photo taken at the Bank of Japan headquarters in Tokyo on April 14, 2023 shows a sample of the front of Japan’s new banknotes, which will begin issuing on July 3, 2024. The banknotes feature (from top to bottom) Eiichi Shibusawa (1840-1931), a businessman widely known as the “father of Japanese capitalism,” Umeko Tsuda (1864-1929), an educator, and Shibasaburo Kitasato (1853-1931), a physician and bacteriologist. (Kyodo News)
The Bank of Japan is set to send out 1.6 trillion yen worth of newly issued banknotes on Wednesday, with Governor Ueda Kazuo stressing the importance of paper money as an “important means of payment” even in an era of expanding cashless payments.
In Fukaya city, Saitama prefecture, near Tokyo, a countdown event began late Tuesday to celebrate the release of the new 10,000 yen banknote featuring Eiichi Shibusawa (1840-1931), a native of the city and known as the “father of Japanese capitalism.”
“I want to become a great figure like Shibusawa,” said 12-year-old Ogawa Takayuki. Others at the ceremony said they hoped Shibusawa’s election would lead to a revitalization of the local economy.
![](https://i0.wp.com/img.kyodonews.net/english/public/images/posts/8e68a2d0edea38e874ee765155a4d922/photo_l.jpg?w=749&ssl=1)
Residents of Fukaya City, Saitama Prefecture, the hometown of businessman Eiichi Shibusawa (1840-1931), celebrated with a countdown event in the early hours of July 3, 2024. On the same day, Japan will issue three new banknotes, including a 10,000 yen note featuring a portrait of Eiichi Shibusawa, known as the “father of Japanese capitalism.” (Kyodo News)
The 5,000 yen note features a portrait of Tsuda Umeko (1864-1929), an educator who worked hard to improve the status of women, and the 1,000 yen note features a portrait of Kitasato Shibasaburo (1853-1931), a microbiologist known as the “father of modern medicine in Japan.”
The banknotes use larger denomination numbers than previous notes to aid recognition and tactile perception for the visually impaired.
The government announced plans to redesign banknotes in 2019, giving financial institutions and businesses time to prepare.
Most public transport ATMs and ticket machines can accept the new notes, but many vending machines cannot.
![](https://i0.wp.com/img.kyodonews.net/english/public/images/posts/f6d37d7e620db1d76915b813c0a87196/photo_l.jpg?w=749&ssl=1)
A file photo taken at the Bank of Japan headquarters in Tokyo on April 14, 2023 shows a sample of the back of Japan’s new banknotes, which will begin issuing on July 3, 2024. The banknotes feature (from top to bottom) Eiichi Shibusawa (1840-1931), a businessman widely known as the “father of Japanese capitalism,” Umeko Tsuda (1864-1929), an educator, and Shibasaburo Kitasato (1853-1931), a physician and bacteriologist. (Kyodo News) == Kyodo News
Related article:
Japan to issue new banknotes on July 3, first design change in 20 years