BOJ won't introduce digital yen as means for negative rates

TOKYO: The Bank of Japan (BOJ) will not introduce a digital yen as a means to achieve negative interest rates, an idea sometimes discussed in academic circles, a senior central bank official said on Wednesday.

In upcoming experiments on issuing a central bank digital currency (CBDC), the BOJ will explore features such as setting a limit on the amount of transactions and holdings for each entity, BOJ Executive Director Shinichi Uchida said in a speech.

The BOJ has not decided whether to issue a digital yen but has moved to a second phase experiment from April to prepare for a possible launch.