Japan will start a pilot program in April to test the use of a digital yen, its central bank said Friday, joining a growing number of countries seeking to catch up to front-runner China in launching a central bank digital currency (CBDC).
The widely expected move follows two years of experiments the Bank of Japan has been conducting to decide whether to issue a CBDC. It also comes ahead of the BOJ's leadership transition to academic Kazuo Ueda, who is expected to succeed incumbent Haruhiko Kuroda. The current governor's second five-year term ends in April.
"Our hope is that the pilot program will lead to improved designs through discussion with private businesses," BOJ Executive Director Shinichi Uchida said in opening remarks at the central bank's meeting with private-sector executives.