J-Coin aims to wean consumers off cash; it will be pegged to the yen and users will be able to spend it through a mobile app. Mizuho Financial Group representatives said for CNBC that the project is in the early stages, and that they have just held study meetings with other institutions. Furthermore, a consortium of banks including Japan Post Bank was involved and the J-Coin would launch in time for the Tokyo Olympics in 2020. The Mizuho spokesperson declined to comment on the involvement of other banks or the timeline.
However, there has not been any approval from regulators yet. Nevertheless, Japans government has been open to the idea of digital currencies. In April 2017, Bitcoin was legalized as a legal payment method in Japan and large retailers began accepting the cryptocurrency.
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