Economy

Japan End-2024 Bank Notes Down for 2nd Straight Year

REUTERS/Pool/File Photo
A sample of new 10,000 Yen banknote at the currency museum of the Bank of Japan, , in Tokyo, Japan.

Jiji Press

11:10 JST, December 31, 2024

Tokyo (Jiji Press)—The year-end balance of bank notes in circulation in Japan is estimated at ¥124,077.8 billion in 2024, falling for the second straight year, according to Bank of Japan data released Monday.

A stack of 10,000-yen bills equivalent to the value would be 1,240 kilometers high, about 328 times higher than 3,776-meter Mount Fuji, the highest mountain in the country.

The balance of bank notes in circulation is the total value of bank notes held at homes, in corporate vaults and elsewhere.

The drop resulted from people increasingly opting for cashless payments although the country’s new bank notes attracted demand since their introduction in July 2024.

The year-end balance declined in 2023 for the first time in 14 years amid the growing spread of cashless payment services.