Japan’s Largest Banks Plan Joint Stablecoin Launch by March 2027

Japan’s three largest banks – MUFG Bank, Mizuho Bank and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation – have a council was established to develop operational frameworks for co-issuing a stablecoin by March 2027.

According to a statement, the stablecoin will be issued under a trust agreement, with the three banks acting as joint settlors, while a “trust bank or similar institution” will act as trustee. The banks are targeting a joint launch in fiscal year 2026, “considering the potential use of stablecoins in a wide range of use cases.”

The megabanks began exploring the co-issuance of stablecoins in late 2025 through a pilot project, which aimed to investigate whether “regulatory and practical compliance” could be carried out “legally and appropriately” when multiple banks jointly issue a stablecoin.

The initiative operates under the FSAs Payment innovation projectlaunched a specialized program to accelerate blockchain-based payment innovations within the existing FinTech Proof-of-Concept Hub that has been supporting fintech experiments since 2017.

Japan clarified and introduced its stablecoin regulations in 2023 amendments to the Payment Services Act that created a licensing regime for issuing and distributing fiat-pegged stablecoins. The legislation requires that approved stablecoins can only be issued by licensed banks, registered money transfer agents and trust companies. Regulatory clarity has since enabled multiple yen-backed stablecoin initiatives.

JPYC Inc. announced the launch of the country’s first legally recognized yen-denominated stablecoin, JPYC, in October 2025. SBI Holdings and Startale Group followed in February 2026, JPYSC disclosurea trust bank-backed yen stablecoin for institutional and cross-border use. Most recently the Japan Blockchain Foundation said in May 2026, it would issue a yen-pegged stablecoin, EJPY, on Japan Open Chain and Ethereum.

The megabanks’ collaborative approach follows a wave of institutional stablecoin activity in Japan since regulatory clarity emerged in 2023. In March 2025, USDC became the first dollar-pegged stablecoin to be approved and issued in Japan by crypto exchange SBI. Months later, Ripple and SBI Holdings announced plans to launch the dollar-pegged RLUSD stablecoin in Japan.