Japan will create a national cryptocurrency - the digital yen

A group of Japanese lawmakers has begun work on issuing a digital currency for Japan, fearing competitionfrom the Facebook Libra project and the upcoming digital yuan of China.

According to Reuters, cryptocurrency, digitalequivalent of the yen, will be a joint initiative between the country's government and private companies that will help Japan "keep pace with global changes in the financial technology sector."

«The first step is to look into the issuance of the digital yen...China is moving towards the issuance of the digital yuan, so we would like to develop measures to respond adequately»— said Deputy Foreign Minister Norihiro Nakayama.

A group of legislators, which includes about 70members of the Liberal Democratic Party, led by former Minister of Economics Akira Amari, he plans to submit a proposal to the government next month.

Reuters notes that Japan is unlikely to releaseown digital currency in the near future, as there are technical and legal barriers that must be overcome. However, steps to implement the idea are already being taken, as the country's central bank, the Bank of Japan, has joined the six central banks of other countries to exchange experiences on creating digital currencies.

It is also reported that the country's Prime MinisterShinzo Abe told Parliament that the government will work with the Bank of Japan to study digital currencies and "ways to improve the convenience of the yen as a means of settlement." Some Japanese lawmakers, he said, expressed concerns about China's movement towards expanding the influence of the renminbi as a currency for settlements.

Former member of the central bank of Japan, Takahide Kiuchi commented:

«The Bank of Japan will not want to do anything thatwill stifle private sector innovation. The best way may be to issue a hybrid digital currency, which is administered by private firms and issued by them, but with the participation of a central bank.

Kiuchi believes that China and Japan have different motivesto issue their own cryptocurrencies. If China wants to strengthen the influence of the yuan, then Japan will try to change the prevailing culture of love for cash.

It is worth noting that Japan accepts bitcoins as legal tender since April 2017 and is a favorable environment for various well-known cryptocurrency companies.

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