Local news outlet Nikkei has reported the Japanese government plans to include central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) in its Honebuto Plan, aimed at economic and fiscal revitalization.
Just 10 days ago, the Bank of Japan, the country's central bank, announced its intention to start testing a digital yen in order to check the currency's viability from a technical point of view.
The report, which is seen as the basis for Japan's economic and fiscal policy, states that the government "will consider a CBDC while coordinating with other countries."
Japan seems to have sped up the development of its own central bank digital currency after it was known China is already testing its digital yuan.
Kozo Yamamoto, Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) Member of the House of Representatives and a former official at the Ministry of Finance, has advocated developing the digital yen, saying:
"If Japan doesn't issue a digital currency and people in the world use other digital currencies, the Japanese yen will be forgotten and lose its sovereignty."
Japan has not always had the same stance towards cryptos, since in July 2019, the country's central bank said that it "had no plan to issue a CBDC."
Subscribe to our Telegram channel to stay up to date on the latest crypto and blockchain news.