Japan’s three major banks join forces to launch a stablecoin! Planning commercial transactions by 2027 to reshape the digital payments ecosystem

Japan's three major banks (MUFG, Mizuho, Sumitomo Mitsui) join forces, planning to officially launch a jointly issued stablecoin by the end of March 2027, for commercial payments to reshape the Japanese yen digital payment ecosystem.

While countries are still debating cryptocurrency regulations, Japan's traditional financial sector has already formed a strong alliance, ready to reshape the payment ecosystem. Japan's three major banking giants announced that they plan to officially activate a stablecoin jointly issued by the three parties for commercial payments before the end of March 2027.

Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (MUFG), Mizuho Bank, and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC) stated in a joint statement that the three will act as "co-trustees," issuing this stablecoin through a trust agreement model, with a trust bank or an equally qualified financial institution serving as trustee to ensure absolute safety and compliance of the assets.

The statement pointed out that Japan's three major banks aim to launch real-time stablecoin transactions within the 2026 fiscal year (April 2026 to March 2027), focusing on "the potential uses of stablecoins across various application scenarios."

In response, these three banks have agreed to establish a dedicated committee responsible for researching operational frameworks and governance mechanisms to prepare for the stablecoin issuance.

This collaboration has actually been brewing for several months. Japan's three major banks began pilot testing stablecoins as early as October 2025, exploring how multiple banks could jointly issue stablecoins classified as "electronic payment tools" under Japan's current regulations.

In November of the same year, Japan's Financial Services Agency (FSA) officially expressed support, stating that the plan aims to verify whether the stablecoin system can operate "legally and properly" within the existing financial regulatory framework. This project was also incorporated into Japan FSA's "FinTech Proof-of-Concept Hub" initiative launched in 2017, making it one of the officially supported fintech experiments.

Japan's rapid progress in bank-issued stablecoins is largely due to the 2023 revision of the "Fund Settlement Act," which officially introduced the concept of "electronic payment tools," allowing qualified service providers and banks to legally issue and manage stablecoins.

With clear regulations in place, many Japanese companies have quickly laid out plans: in October last year, fintech company JPYC Inc. announced the launch of Japan's first legally recognized yen stablecoin, JPYC; in February this year, SBI Holdings and Startale Group launched JPYSC, a yen stablecoin backed by a trust bank, designed specifically for institutional and cross-border payment scenarios; last month, the Japan Blockchain Association also announced the issuance of the yen stablecoin EJPY on Japan Open Chain and Ethereum.

• This article is reprinted with permission from: "BlockCast"
• Original title: "Japan's 3 Major Banks Join Forces to Issue Stablecoin! Aiming to Launch Commercial Transactions by March Next Year"
• Original author: Block Sister Mel