Following the announcement by China to launch its digital yuan, Japan is also planning to start its own cryptocurrency, a new report states.

China started planning its digital Yuan project known as the DCEP (digital currency electronic payment) after Facebook announced its intentions to release Libra.

At the moment, China is close to releasing a digital version of Yuan and Japan is following this step.

Lawmakers of the ruling party in Japan are planning on presenting a proposal that Japan should have its own central bank digital currency (CBDC), a digital version of the yen.

According to Norihiro Nakayama, the parliamentary vice minister of foreign affairs in Japan, they will first look into the idea of sending out a digital yen.

“China is moving toward issuing digital yuan, so we’d like to propose measures to contradict those trials.”

When will Japan issue its digital currency?

It is not likely that Japan will issue digital currency anytime soon.

However, if it is backed by the government, it will help subside some concerns Libra has faced.

Libra is run by a selected group of big tech companies that are not always known for being trusted.

Hence, we’re going to have to wait a little while longer to see how this one plays out. However, it’s clear that central bank digital currencies are on their way, whether we need them or not.

JPMorgan’s inward bound towards Japan market

In addition, JPMorgan’s blockchain-based payment network has earlier promised to launch in Japan this year.

The Interbank Information Network (IIN) explains that it intends to accelerate payment transactions as well as address major challenges of sharing data between banks.

According, to reports that more than 80 Japanese banks have expressed their intent to join the platform.

Japanese banks now account for more than 20 percent of the 365 total global members that announced their participation since September 2019, accounting for the largest portion of participants from any single country.

Daizaburo Sanai, an executive director at the JPMorgan, stated that the INN is currently operating at 70 banks in Europe, Asia, and the United States.