The Bank of Japan has launched the first phase of testing for its national digital currency (CBDC). This is stated in the regulator’s statement.
At this stage, the central bank will develop a testing environment for the CBDC and run experiments with its core functions. The first phase will run until March 2022.
According to the roadmap, after this the BOJ will offer the digital yen to private enterprises and users.
In March 2021, Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda said that the regulator had no plans to issue a CBDC, but urged preparation for its possible deployment.
Earlier, in the summer of 2020, the Bank of Japan formed a working group to study CBDC and participate in joint research with regulators in other countries.