Media: Japan’s Finance Ministry to form an expert group to study the digital yen

In April, Japan’s Ministry of Finance plans to assemble an expert group to study CBDC possibilities, according to NHK.

The ministry will focus on building a base for the digital yen based on technical research conducted by the Bank of Japan (BoJ) over two years.

BoJ officials noted that they currently have no concrete plans to issue a CBDC. In their assessment, it will take considerable time to address legal and technical questions.

Earlier, the BoJ said about plans to launch a pilot program to test the digital yen in April 2023. The first phase of CBDC experiments in the country started in spring 2021.

BoJ Governor Haruhiko Kuroda noted that the regulator will take a decision on the feasibility of issuing the digital yen after thorough testing.

In November 2022, the BoJ, in partnership with three megabanks announced a pilot project for Japan’s CBDC.