TOKYO: To deter counterfeiters, Japan started issuing new banknotes on Wednesday, July 3, the first in 20 years. The banknotes feature three-dimensional portraits of the founders of financial and female education institutions.
The notes use a technology that Japan’s National Printing Bureau claims is the first in the world for paper money to create holograms of portraits facing various directions depending on the angle of view.
While the government encourages consumers and businesses to use less cash to digitise the economy, train stations, parking lots, and ramen shops are rushing to upgrade their payment machines, even though the current bills are still in use.
Shown on the new 10,000-yen (US$62) note is Eiichi Shibusawa (1840–1931), dubbed “the father of Japanese capitalism” for founding the country’s first bank and stock exchange.
The 1,000-yen bill depicts Shibasaburo Kitasato (1853–1931), a trailblazing medical scientist, while the 5,000-yen bill features educator Umeko Tsuda (1864–1929), who established one of the first women’s universities in Japan. At a ceremony on Wednesday to celebrate the new notes, Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda stated that cash is a safe form of payment that anyone can use anywhere and at any time. He also stated that cash will continue to play a significant role even when alternative payment methods prevail.
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