- The stablecoin will be pegged to the Japanese yen and operate on shared banking infrastructure to reduce payment costs.
- Other Japanese fintechs and financial firms, such as JPYC and SBI Holdings, are also preparing legally compliant stablecoin offerings.
Japan is preparing for a major shift in digital finance as the country’s three largest banking groups plan to jointly launch a stablecoin for corporate transactions. The currency will be pegged to the Japanese yen and will operate on shared banking infrastructure designed to streamline settlements and reduce payment costs.
According to a report from the Nikkei, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (MUFG), Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group (SMFG) and Mizuho Financial Group will create a unified framework for issuing and transferring stablecoins across their networks.
The project aims to replicate existing payment rails while introducing real-time settlement capabilities. The banks may later introduce a version linked to the U.S. dollar, expanding its potential for cross-border transactions.
The initiative comes at a time when financial institutions worldwide are exploring programmable money. Stablecoins pegged to national currencies now support over $300 billion in on-chain value, led by U.S. dollar tokens such as USDT and USDC. Europe is developing a euro-backed stablecoin through a coalition of nine major banks, while several U.S. institutions are exploring similar collaborations.
See Related: Big U.S. Banks Are Exploring A Joint Stablecoin In Early Talks: Report
Part Of Global Shift To Regulated Stablecoins
Japan has moved early with regulation. The country legalized stablecoin issuance under a revised Payment Services Act last year, requiring issuers to be licensed banks, trust companies, or registered money transfer firms. This cleared the way for corporate-backed tokens and bank-issued digital money.
MUFG already operates Progmat, a blockchain platform for tokenized securities and digital assets backed by dozens of Japanese institutions. The bank previously explored stablecoin issuance through the same system.
Meanwhile, fintech JPYC recently obtained a money transfer license from Japan’s Financial Services Agency, allowing it to offer a legally compliant yen-pegged token. SBI Holdings is also preparing to distribute Ripple’s U.S. dollar stablecoin (RLUSD) in Japan, pending regulatory approval.
The stablecoin planned by MUFG, SMFG and Mizuho will target corporate clients rather than retail users at the start. Companies could use it for supply chain payments, real-time settlements, and cross-bank transfers that currently take hours or even days.
If successful, the framework could pave the way for wider adoption of digital currency in Japan’s financial system and create a domestic alternative to private U.S. dollar stablecoins that dominate global payments today.
