The Financial Services Agency (FSA) is expected to give the green light as early as this fall, according to reports from The Nihon Keizai Shimbun.
Tokyo-based fintech JPYC will spearhead the effort, registering as a licensed money transfer business within the month. Its stablecoin will maintain a 1:1 peg to the Japanese yen, backed by liquid reserves such as bank deposits and government bonds. Tokens will be issued via bank transfer and stored in digital wallets for individuals and corporations.
The development comes as the global stablecoin market exceeds $286 billion, largely dominated by dollar-pegged assets like USDT and USDC. While U.S. stablecoins already circulate in Japan, this will be the country’s first homegrown fiat-pegged digital currency.
JPYC executives believe yen stablecoins could reshape the nation’s financial landscape. Drawing parallels to the U.S., where stablecoin issuers are now among the biggest buyers of Treasuries, they argue that a similar trend in Japan could increase demand for Japanese government bonds (JGBs).
“JPYC will likely start buying up Japanese government bonds in large quantities going forward,” wrote Okabe, a representative of the issuer, adding that countries slow to adopt stablecoin frameworks risk higher borrowing costs by missing out on this new demand channel.
The move follows Circle’s March 2025 launch of USDC in Japan after receiving FSA approval for listing on SBI VC Trade. Circle said it plans to expand USDC availability to Binance Japan, bitbank, and bitFlyer — three of the country’s largest exchanges, collectively drawing millions of monthly users and processing tens of millions in daily volume.
With domestic stablecoins now in play, Japan is positioning itself to compete in a sector increasingly tied to both monetary policy and global capital flows. Analysts say yen-pegged tokens could reinforce Japan’s role as a blockchain-friendly financial hub while introducing new liquidity to its bond market.
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