Bank of Japan Runs Test of World's First Banknotes With 3D-Hologram

TOKYO (Sputnik) - Bank of Japan, which is preparing to launch new banknotes with three-dimensional holograms in June 2023, has conducted the first public testing of banknotes by local ATMs and vending machines, as broadcast on national television on Tuesday.

Earlier in November, the bank officially announced that the issue of 10,000 yen, 5,000 yen and 1,000 yen bills was discontinued. The new banknotes should be put into circulation in the first half of fiscal 2024, which will begin on April 1, 2024, the Japanese broadcaster NHK reported.

The new 10,000 yen banknote will feature a portrait of Eiichi Shibusawa, a Japanese statesman and entrepreneur hailed as the father of Japanese capitalism. A portrait of Umeko Tsuda, who was a female teacher during the Meiji era promoting education for women, will be placed on the 5,000 yen bill. The 1,000 yen banknote will have a portrait of a doctor, one of the discoverers of the plague pathogen, Shibasaburo Kitasato, known as the father of modern Japanese medicine, as seen on the broadcast.

In addition, three three-dimensional holograms will be applied to the new banknotes, which will move when the position of a bill changes. These will be the world's first banknotes to incorporate special 3D-hologram technology, according to the report.