Japan must cooperate with Europe, US on CBDC, BOJ says

The Bank of Japan’s (BOJ) chief called on the U.S. and Europe to cooperate on creating a global technical standard for a central bank digital currency (CBDC), Reuters reported on Friday. 

Fast facts

• The central bank has not made a decision on the issuance of a CBDC, but has conducted experiments while deliberating on the designs, BOJ Governor Haruhiko Kuroda said during a parliament session on Friday. 

• Kuroda said Japan might be ready to make a decision on a digital yen launch by 2026. 

• Like Japan, the U.S. Federal Reserve has not made a decision on the launch of a digital dollar, but its latest discussion paper called for public comments from local stakeholders.  

• The European Central Bank launched the digital euro project in July last year, to prepare for the issuance if necessary, but has not committed to a decision.

• The first phase of Japan’s CBDC experiment started in April last year, and will transition into the second phase in the coming April.  

• In the Japanese parliament session, the finance minister said Tokyo is keeping a close eye on the development of China’s digital yuan.