It’s time to change the Japanese bank notes. Every 20 years, the Japanese bank notes designs are changed in order to prevent forgery. Finance Minister Taro Aso (the former Prime Minister) announced today, April 9, 2019, that the ¥10,000, ¥5,000 and ¥1,000 banknotes will be redesigned with cutting-edge technology to prevent counterfeiting. Here are the specifications of three new bank notes.
10,000 yen
New ¥10,000 bill
The portrait of new ¥10,000 bill will be of Eiichi Shibusawa (1840-1931), a banker and business leader so called “the father of Japanese capitalism”. He played a key role in modernizing the Japanese economy. He created over 500 incorporated companies in his lifetime. The backside of the bill is an image of Tokyo station.
Wikipedia: Eiichi Shibusawa
5,000 yen
New ¥5,000 bill
The portrait on the new ¥5,000 bill will be of Umeko Tsuda (1864-1929), the founder of Tsuda University in Tokyo. She studied in the U.S. and became a pioneer in the education of Japanese women in early 20th Century. The backside of the bill is an image of wisteria flowers.
Wikipedia: Umeko Tsuda
1,000 yen
New ¥1,000 bill
The portrait of the new ¥1,000 bill will be Shibasaburo Kitasato (1853-1931), a bacteriologist who helped craft the foundation for modern medical science in Japan. He successfully cultured the tetanus bacillus, and established the serum treatment for the first time in the entire world. He also discovered plague bacillus. The backside of the bill is famous Ukiyoe; Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji.
Wikipedia: Shibasaburo Kitazato
New technologies on the new bills
3D hologram portraits will also adopted on the new bills, making them the first bank notes in the world to incorporate this technology to prevent forgery.
New 500 yen coin design
New ¥500 coin
In addition to the three new bills, the 500 yen coin will also be redesigned. It looks similar to the current one, although two colors will be used.
The new design bills and coin will be introduced in the first half of 2024.
Wow, that’s pretty far ahead from now! But we look forward to it 🙂
Plan on Visiting Japan?
Japanese Festival Finder App
You can easily find festivals when you come to Japan.
J-FestGuide: Japanese Festival finder.
FREE on the App Store and Google Play!
LEARN BASIC JAPANESE FOR FREE! Check out our NEW Online Japanese Lessons.