Japan issued its first new banknotes in two decades on Wednesday, yen packed with 3-D hologram technology to fight counterfeiting.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida praised as “historic” the state-of-the-art anti-counterfeit traits of the new 10,000 yen, 5,000 yen and 1,000 yen bills.
I hope the people will like the new bills, and they will help energise the Japanese economy,” he told reporters at the Bank of Japan.
While the new bills were released with fanfare, currency already in use will remain valid. In fact, people will still need older bills to use most vending machines and to pay bus fares, local media reported.