Japan's three major banks are advancing their stablecoin initiatives to the joint issuance stage. MUFG Bank, Mizuho Bank, and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation have established a dedicated committee to develop a framework for issuance and operations, aiming to launch a jointly issued stablecoin by the end of fiscal year 2026, corresponding to March 2027.
The issuance structure has been preliminarily defined.
According to the statement, this stablecoin will be issued through a trust arrangement. Three banks will serve as co-trustors, with a trust bank or similar institution acting as the trustee. The banks stated that this arrangement is designed for broader use cases, with a focus on preparing the stablecoin for practical applications in areas such as payments.
Three institutions launched pilot programs by the end of 2025 to assess whether compliance and operational feasibility could be achieved under existing regulations when multiple banks jointly issue stablecoins. The establishment of a committee now signifies that the project has moved from initial validation to more concrete institutional and implementation design.
The project has been included in Japan's Payment Innovation Program.
This collaboration is part of Japan’s Financial Services Agency’s Payment Innovation Project, which aims to advance blockchain-based payment innovations as part of Japan’s existing fintech proof-of-concept framework. Japan has supported fintech trials through relevant mechanisms since 2017, and stablecoins have now become one of the key focus areas.
The Japanese stablecoin market is heating up, directly linked to the clarified regulatory framework in 2023. That year, Japan amended the Payment Services Act to establish a licensing system for fiat-collateralized stablecoins. Under current requirements, only licensed banks, registered money transfer services, and trust companies are permitted to issue such stablecoins.
The Japanese yen stablecoin project continues to grow.
- In October 2025, JPYC Inc. announced the launch of JPYC, Japan's first legally recognized yen-backed stablecoin.
- In February 2026, SBI Holdings and Startale Group launched JPYSC for institutional and cross-border use cases.
- In May 2026, the Japan Blockchain Foundation announced it will issue EJPY on Japan Open Chain and Ethereum.
In addition to yen-backed stablecoins, USD-backed stablecoins are also entering the Japanese market. In March 2025, USDC became the first USD-backed stablecoin approved for launch in Japan, issued by the crypto exchange SBI. Since then, Ripple and SBI Holdings have announced plans to introduce the USD-backed stablecoin RLUSD in Japan.
The joint initiative by the three major banks indicates that Japan's stablecoin competition has shifted from individual institutional trials to coordinated efforts by large financial institutions. If the project is successfully implemented as planned, the Japanese banking system's involvement in on-chain payments and institutional settlements will further increase.