Japan has expanded its push to bring yen stablecoins into everyday business use, with 26 companies, financial institutions and local government bodies joining a six month program that will test EJPY and other stablecoin use cases across payments, remittances and digital assets.
Summary
- Toshiba and 25 other participants have joined a six month program testing EJPY and other stablecoin use cases in Japan.
- Testing will cover domestic and cross border payments, business transactions, digital asset settlement and Web3 services.
- Participants will receive EJPY test tokens, wallets and access to Japan Open Chain infrastructure for technical trials.
- The program runs through February 2027, while participation does not commit any company to launching a stablecoin service.
Japan Blockchain Foundation said the Stablecoin Proof of Concept Partners program began in September and will run until February 2027, giving participants access to test EJPY tokens, wallets and the Japan Open Chain infrastructure needed to develop and verify potential services.
Toshiba is among the companies taking part, alongside SCSK, QUICK, Seiko Solutions, Hachijuni Nagano Bank, Asahi Broadcasting Group Holdings, Tobu Top Tours and several technology and financial services firms. Tagawa City has joined from the public sector.
Sixteen participants have been publicly named so far, while another 10 will be disclosed after discussions with the companies are completed.
The program moves EJPY beyond the preparation work outlined earlier this year and into testing with businesses that could eventually use stablecoins for actual transactions. The foundation is developing EJPY as a trust based, yen denominated stablecoin centered on Japan Open Chain, an Ethereum compatible Layer 1 blockchain operated by a consortium of Japanese companies.
EJPY tests move toward business payments
Participants will examine potential applications across domestic payments and remittances, cross border transactions, business to business settlements and payments involving digital assets such as real world assets and security tokens.
Other areas include Web3 services, local government and regional economy payments, and new financial services built around stablecoins.
Japan Blockchain Foundation said the companies will develop use cases based on their own business needs instead of working from a single predefined payment model. Technical testing will then be used to examine whether those ideas could eventually become commercial services.
Participation does not mean the companies have committed to issuing, handling or commercially launching stablecoins. The program is intended to study possible applications and verify the technology before any individual company decides whether to proceed with a product.
The latest work builds on plans for EJPY that were disclosed earlier this year. As crypto.news previously reported, Japan Blockchain Foundation was preparing the yen pegged token for business to business settlement, with Japan Open Chain serving as a core issuance network and Ethereum support planned from the start.
At the time, launch terms and timing had yet to be finalized as work continued around regulatory reviews, trustee selection and discussions with potential partners.
The foundation is still preparing the trust structure, issuance and redemption process, systems and legal compliance arrangements for EJPY.
Under the new program, participating organizations will receive information on stablecoin regulations, market developments, the EJPY structure and use cases already being explored in Japan and overseas. Individual consultations will be offered for companies designing stablecoin based business models or systems.
Technical support will include EJPY test tokens and wallets that can operate on Japan Open Chain, allowing companies to test transactions before deciding whether a service is commercially viable.
Japan stablecoin use is moving beyond issuance
EJPY is entering testing as several Japanese businesses explore how stablecoins could work within existing payment systems.
Convenience store operator Lawson expanded a stablecoin trial in August to include JPYC, USDC and USDT at two Tokyo stores. The test processes wallet barcodes through Lawson’s existing point of sale registers without requiring separate payment terminals.
Lawson said it would examine payment speed, system integration and store operations before deciding whether stablecoin payments should be introduced more widely.
Corporate payment use is developing alongside retail trials. Japanese logistics group AZ COM Maruwa Holdings has laid out plans to use JPYC for payments involving roughly 2,300 business partners and contractors, including truck drivers.
JPYC itself has continued attracting corporate backing. The stablecoin issuer raised a total of 6 billion yen, or roughly $38 million, through an extended Series B round announced in August. AZ COM Maruwa invested 1 billion yen as part of the funding while preparing its planned payment use.
EJPY would add another yen denominated option to the market. Japan Blockchain Foundation expects the token to support business settlements, digital asset payments, remittances and transactions involving Web3 services.
Japan Open Chain is intended to serve as the main network for issuance and circulation, though the foundation is considering multichain support to make EJPY available to businesses in Japan and overseas.
Japanese banks prepare their own stablecoin services
Stablecoin development is taking place within Japan’s banking sector as well.
MUFG Bank, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation and Mizuho Bank are targeting live stablecoin transactions during fiscal 2026, which ends in March 2027.
The three banks have been working through a shared framework covering issuance infrastructure, governance, operating rules and systems. Their work followed a Financial Services Agency backed pilot that tested corporate cross border payments through a trust structure using Progmat blockchain infrastructure.
Cross border testing has continued outside that project. Kyobo Life Insurance and Japan’s SBI Group completed a yen and won stablecoin test in September using the Canton Network.
The pilot tested direct exchange between representations of yen and won stablecoins without first converting the funds through the US dollar. Institutional transfer, foreign exchange, settlement, tracking and reconciliation were included in the test, although no institutional funds changed hands.
Japan Blockchain Foundation has identified similar cross border payments as one of the areas EJPY participants want to explore.
Japan builds a regulated stablecoin market
Japan already has a legal framework covering stablecoins, while regulators have continued adjusting oversight as more financial institutions and businesses enter the sector.
The Financial Services Agency established a dedicated Cryptocurrency and Stablecoin Division in August, bringing digital asset supervision, innovation and digital payment planning under a standalone department.
Yen stablecoin activity has meanwhile expanded through JPYC, which operates as a regulated electronic payment instrument. JPYC Inc. received registration as a funds transfer service provider in August 2025 and formally launched its current stablecoin and JPYC EX issuance and redemption service later that year.
The token is designed to maintain a one to one value with the yen and is backed by yen denominated deposits and Japanese government bonds. Its use has since spread into retail and corporate payment tests, while the token became available for trading on South Korean exchange Upbit in September.
EJPY is being developed under a different trust based structure. Japan Blockchain Foundation plans to use the proof of concept program to work through potential business applications while continuing preparations for issuance and redemption, regulatory compliance and the underlying system.
Participation in the program is free and is open to businesses, financial institutions and local governments considering stablecoin payment infrastructure, remittance services or blockchain based digital transformation.
The current testing period is scheduled to continue through February 2027, with participating organizations expected to develop and verify EJPY use cases using test tokens and Japan Open Chain infrastructure.
