What is on the money in Japan?
The 2024 series is the first anywhere to use three-dimensional holographic portraits that appear to turn as the note is tilted. Japan replaces its designs roughly every twenty years specifically to stay ahead of counterfeiting technology, and the choice of subjects is a statement about what the country wants to be seen valuing — a bacteriologist, an educator and an industrialist rather than politicians or soldiers. Japanese notes are made from a paper containing mitsumata fibre, giving a distinctive crispness.
Who and what is on each note
| Note | Who or what is on it |
|---|---|
| ¥1,000 | Kitasato Shibasaburō, bacteriologist |
| ¥5,000 | Tsuda Umeko, educator and women's education pioneer |
| ¥10,000 | Shibusawa Eiichi, industrialist |
The unusual part
No postwar Japanese banknote has ever been demonetised. A 1950s ¥1,000 note is still legal tender.
Notes that were withdrawn
| Note | When | Why |
|---|---|---|
| The previous series | 2024 | Replaced, though not demonetised — Japan has never demonetised a postwar note, and notes from the 1950s are still spendable. |
The practical facts
- Currency
- Japanese yen — ISO code JPY, symbol ¥
- Printed on
- Paper
- Survives a wash?
- Not reliably. Paper notes disintegrate when soaked.
- Can a blind person tell them apart?
- Yes — the denominations differ in size, which is the simplest and most reliable tactile cue there is.
- Highest note in issue
- ¥10,000 — Shibusawa Eiichi, industrialist
This page describes the notes rather than showing them. Reproducing a banknote image is restricted in most jurisdictions, and the restrictions differ between them.
Common questions
- Who is on the money in Japan?
- ¥1,000: Kitasato Shibasaburō, bacteriologist. ¥5,000: Tsuda Umeko, educator and women's education pioneer. ¥10,000: Shibusawa Eiichi, industrialist.
- Are Japan's banknotes polymer or paper?
- Paper.
- Why was the The previous series withdrawn?
- Replaced, though not demonetised — Japan has never demonetised a postwar note, and notes from the 1950s are still spendable. (2024.)
Related pages
- Japan Capital, area, population and currency
- The flag of Japan Colours, symbols and lookalikes
- The money in United States US dollar
- The money in Eurozone Euro
- The money in United Kingdom Pound sterling
- The money in India Indian rupee
- The money in Zimbabwe Zimbabwean dollar
- The money in Australia Australian dollar
- The money in Canada Canadian dollar
- The money in China Renminbi
- The money in Switzerland Swiss franc
- The money in South Africa South African rand
Sources
- Official vendor product documentation — At One Place