The Japan Blockchain Foundation has announced plans to issue EJPY, a stablecoin pegged to the Japanese yen, on both the Japan Open Chain (JOC) and Ethereum (ETH) blockchains. The foundation is currently in talks with potential trustees for the token, which will operate under Japan's stablecoin regulations as a trust-type model. Unlike earlier stablecoins like JPYC, which are subject to a 1 million yen transaction limit, EJPY will not have such restrictions.
Japan Open Chain is an Ethereum-compatible layer-1 blockchain operated by a consortium of 14 Japanese enterprises, including Dentsu Inc., NTT Communications, and SBINFT Co. The Japan Blockchain Foundation serves as the consortium's operating entity. EJPY is designed to support B2B settlements, digital asset transactions, remittances, and payments across Web3 services, with potential multi-chain compatibility in the future.
The foundation aims to complete the launch of EJPY within 2026, though a specific timeline has not been set. Japan's stablecoin framework has been active since 2023, with JPYC being the first approved yen stablecoin. Since then, major financial institutions like SBI Holdings, MUFG, SMBC, and Mizuho have moved to establish their own stablecoin and tokenized deposit pilots.