Bank of Japan to decide on CBDC launch by 2026

Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda told lawmakers that the regulator has not yet decided on launching a digital yen. Reuters reports.

According to Kuroda, the BoJ is continuing experiments with a central bank digital currency (CBDC) and will decide on the advisability of its launch by 2026 after consultations with the government and the private sector.

“The most important thing is that the idea is sufficiently understood by the public,” he added.

Kuroda also noted the need to cooperate with Europe and the United States in developing an international standard for CBDC issuance.

In the same parliamentary session, Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki said Tokyo is closely watching the development of the digital yuan. China will test CBDC at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing.

In April 2021 the Bank of Japan launched the first phase of CBDC testing, which will run until March 2022.

In July, ruling Liberal Democratic Party lawmaker Hideki Murai said the state will develop a more detailed plan for the digital yen by the end of 2022.

Earlier, the Bank of Japan doubted the inevitability of CBDC as the sole solution to digitising payments.

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