Unpopular 2,000-Yen Bill Battles for Survival

September 17, 2018

Tokyo- Despite a much-heralded debut 18 years ago, 2,000-yen bills failed to find wide appeal, leaving them seldom sighted recently.

The number of 2,000-yen bills in circulation accounts for a paltry 0.7 pct of all bank notes in use in Japan.

"They're very unpopular," a clerk at a Tokyo branch of a megabank said of the bills. The few requests for exchange include those by women who want their children to examine them during the summer vacation, according to the clerk.

The 2,000-yen bill was launched in July 2000, when Japan hosted a Group of Eight summit in the Kyushu southwestern region and Okinawa Prefecture. It is the brainchild of former Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi, who laid the groundwork for bringing the summit to Okinawa but died earlier that year.

According to the Bank of Japan, a total of 880 million 2,000-yen bills had been issued by fiscal 2003. The amount in circulation peaked at some 500 million in 2004 and has stood slightly below 100 million in recent years, even fewer than some 200 million for the 500-yen bill, which has not been issued for 24 years.

The remaining 780 million 2,000-yen bills are stashed in BOJ vaults, except for those shredded due to damage.

The BOJ and the Ministry of Finance claimed that bank notes in denominations featuring the figure 2 were user-friendly, as shown overseas in examples such as 20-dollar bills in the United States.

But most vending machines and automated teller machines do not accept or hand out 2,000-yen bills.

"(Officials) failed to appreciate the low demand for 2,000-yen bills in Japan, where large-denomination bills are widely used," a former MOF official said.

According to the BOJ branch in Naha, capital of Okinawa, the circulation of 2,000-yen bills in Okinawa has risen to some six million due in part to its obverse side design incorporating a picture of the Shureimon gate of Shuri Castle, a local tourist spot.

Bank of Okinawa ATMs dispense 2,000-yen bills unless users press a "not want" button. Souvenir shops hand customers change in 2,000-yen bills.

In a bid to shore up the low popularity, the government counts on visitors from abroad to foster momentum for increased use of 2,000-yen bills. It has distributed a large number of English-language leaflets playing up the bills to airports, hotels and currency exchangers.

"We hope visitors to Japan will use them, helping Japanese people to rediscover their attraction," an official of the ministry's Treasury Division.

The leaflet explains that the reverse side of the 2,000-yen bill features a picture taken from an illustrated hand scroll of the Japanese literature classic "The Tale of Genji" and a drawing of the work's author, Murasaki Shikibu.

Highlighting the bill as "a small cultural treasure of Japan," the government is calling for active use of the money. Jiji Press