TOKYO - Bank of Japan officials are ramping up calls to keep pace with rapid developments around digital currencies that may accelerate a shift to cashless payments in a country better known for its belief that "cash is king".

Once seen as a society favouring physical currency, Japan saw the ratio of cashless payments rise to 42.8 percent in 2024, up from 13.2 percent in 2010 and hitting the government's 40 percent goal a year earlier than targeted, government data showed.

While Japan is a global laggard on payment technology, the increase in cashless transactions is forcing policymakers to ensure they are ready to adapt to shifting public preference on payment and settlement means.

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This includes the option of a central bank digital currency (CBDC). While no decision has been made on whether to issue a digital yen, the BOJ began a pilot program for developing a CBDC in 2023, and has been consulting with private firms and the government on its framework and design.

"Although banknote issuance remains high in Japan, usage of notes could fall significantly in the future amid rapid digitalisation," BOJ Executive Director Kazushige Kamiyama told a meeting last week with private firms on the pilot program.

"As such, Japan must consider what steps it can take now to ensure its retail settlement system is convenient, efficient, accessible universally, while being safe and resilient."

BOJ Deputy Governor Shinichi Uchida said a CBDC may become "a critical piece of infrastructure" shaping the future of Japan's payment and settlement systems, but stressed that he did not expect demand for cash to disappear in Japan any time soon.

In his speech on Saturday, Uchida spoke about a hypothetical world in which the yen is overtaken by another instrument - such as crypto assets - as the main form of payment in Japan.

Such a world would not occur as long as the public believes in the BOJ's ability to keep the value of the yen stable, which could come into question if the central bank fails to fulfil its mission of price stability, Uchida said.

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"Looking to the future, in a society that has made significant advances in digitalization, there is no guarantee that currency issued by the central bank of a sovereign nation will continue to function as a generally acceptable payment instrument," he said.

CBDCs are back in the spotlight after US President Donald Trump issued an executive order in January banning the Federal Reserve from issuing a digital dollar, seemingly as part of a drive to promote cryptocurrencies and stablecoins instead.

The growing presence of stablecoins, or cryptocurrencies backed by a hard currency, and the potential risk of an erosion in the US dollar's dominance have also piled pressure on central banks to consider issuing their own digital currencies.

The European Central Bank has called for the need to issue a digital euro to respond to Trump's push to promote stablecoins, and develop an electronic means of payment that does not rely on dominant US providers such as Visa.