## A Money Makeover

## Source details

**Canonical URL:** [A Money Makeover](https://www.imf.org/-/media/files/publications/fandd/article/2019/september/inside-look-at-japans-new-currency-weir.pdf)

## Other formats

- [Markdown version](/-/media/files/publications/fandd/article/2019/september/inside-look-at-japans-new-currency-weir.pdf.md)
- [Structured JSON version](/-/media/files/publications/fandd/article/2019/september/inside-look-at-japans-new-currency-weir.pdf.json)

---

### Redesign overview and timing
- The Japanese government announced redesigns of the 1,000, 5,000, and 10,000 yen banknotes and 500 yen coins in April 2019.
- The banknotes are redesigned every 20 years.
- The redesigned banknotes will go into circulation in 2024.
- The new coins will debut earlier than 2024.

### Honorees on the banknotes (trio of leaders)
- 10,000 yen note: Eiichi Shibusawa (1840–1931)
  - Described as the “father of Japanese capitalism.”
  - Founded the country’s first bank and approximately 500 other business and economic organizations, including the Tokyo Stock Exchange.
  - Involved in founding hundreds of organizations promoting social welfare, education, and international exchange.
  - Advocated that “an economy has no national borders.”
- 5,000 yen note: Umeko Tsuda (1864–1929)
  - Pioneer in women’s education.
  - One of the first female students sent overseas on a government diplomatic program in 1871.
  - Founded one of the country’s first women’s colleges in 1900 (now Tsuda University).
- 1,000 yen note: Shibasaburo Kitasato (1853–1931)
  - Physician and bacteriologist.
  - Discovered a method to prevent tetanus, codiscovered the infectious agent responsible for bubonic plague, founded the Institute for Infectious Diseases, and laid the groundwork for modern medicine in Japan.
  - Was nominated for the Nobel Prize in 1901.

### Art and imagery
- The back of the 1,000 yen bill will feature Hokusai’s Great Wave off Kanagawa.
  - The print was finished around 1830.
  - The image was enhanced by Hokusai with a shade of blue known as “Prussian blue,” imported from Europe.
  - The print frames Mt. Fuji in the background and depicts fishermen in boats in the foreground.
  - Hokusai’s prints influenced artists abroad, including Claude Monet, Mary Cassatt, and Vincent Van Gogh.
- The back of the 5,000 yen note will feature images of wisteria flowers.
- The back of the 10,000 yen note will feature a historic Tokyo train station building.
- The fronts of all three new banknotes will capture movement via sophisticated 3D holographic portraits.

### Security features and materials
- New security components include:
  - 3D holographic portraits that rotate when tilted (described by the Japanese Ministry of Finance as an international first).
  - High-definition watermarks.
  - Holographic stripes.
  - A holographic patch.
- The banknote material will incorporate fibers native to Japan.

### Currency use, cashless trend, and policy rationale
- Cash remains very popular in Japan compared with other countries despite government steps to promote cashless transactions.
- The cashless payment rate is rising.
- The amount of currency in circulation is increasing, in part because of saving habits.
- Ministry of Finance representatives state there is still a need to continue to provide currency “with high confidence,” and they expect the new designs will accomplish that.

*Finance & Development, September 2019 — “A Money Makeover” by Melinda Weir.*

---


_Source: https://www.imf.org/-/media/files/publications/fandd/article/2019/september/inside-look-at-japans-new-currency-weir.pdf_