I haven't seen these for sale anywhere yet, but I'm guessing I might want to try Ebay. There was an interesting piece on NHK about the new Japanese bills. They surveyed some people on the street and one person said "it doesn't look like Japanese money." I think that's because they moved the Kanji numerals to the margins and instead highlighted the Arabic numerals in the center of the bills. I personally really liked the Kanji numerals highlighted on the old series, but I understand that they were moved to conform to international standards. The piece also said that Japan has taken a sharp turn towards electronic money since these new notes were announced a few years ago. Since new series only appear once in a great while in Japan (series E, the previous banknote series, first appeared in 2004, or twenty years ago), the piece predicted that these could be the final new series of paper notes that Japan prints. We'll see if that comes true or not, or course. But who knows where things will stand in 20 years?
Very prevalent on eBay (especially from Japanese sellers). Shouldn't have trouble finding this one, as well as the new 5000 and 10,000 yen notes. Everyone has their own opinions of course, but it looks very Japanese to me. I'm sure when the US significantly redesigned their currency last, were definitely mixed opinions, but I doubt anyone said it didn't look American. Some people are just resistant to change of any kind. Not here to say anyone's opinions are wrong, but I think this design may grow on people once they get used to it. The reverse of the 1000 is based on what's arguably the most iconic piece of Japanese art, ever. If that's not Japanese enough, I don't know what is lol. Paper money will be less of a thing as time marches on, but I don't expect to see it disappear completely within my lifetime. There will always be a place for cash to some degree, at least for quite some time.
I have yet to see them in person. Design looks pretty cool. I personally don't see how Japan can phase out banknotes completely where cash is still king. While Japan might be technologically advance - some companies still use floppy disks and fax machines... On top of this, people forget that in an event of natural disaster like earthquake and tsunami, you don't have to worry about no comms or broken down ATM machines.
I did look on Ebay and ordered a full set of the notes. I found a seller in Canada. I'll be curious to see them in hand. I posted the series E Japanese banknotes here a few years ago (I'm not as active on this site as I used to be). I have to admit I really prefer the Kanji numerals prominent in the left center of the note. But maybe I just grew used to seeing that after years of looking at Japanese money. The new notes, presumably series F, don't look incredibly different from Series E. I'm sure they will be fine. As to the disappearance of cash, this site has discussed that numerous times over the years. For many, cash has declined in use greatly over the past 5-10 years. The trend will likely continue, but cash will stick around probably for a while, though without some major upheaval (which would introduce many problems bigger than cash), it likely won't have the prominence it once did. As for me, I don't need cash anymore. It's actually become inconvenient for me to get it. I almost never have cash on me, and when I do, it sits in my wallet for months. Many major cities are now set up as cashless, with some exceptions. It's hard to do business now, especially in a major city, without supporting electronic payments. What's surprising about Japan is that even 5 years ago Japanese news (again, NHK) claimed that Japan has stuck hard to its tradition of using cash. I remember hearing something like only 10 - 20% of transactions were electronic. Only a few years later, I'm hearing that electronic transactions have risen to over 50%. That trend will likely continue. But no one knows the future, who knows what will happen.
I'll be honest, most of my money shows up as numbers on a computer, and gets spent the same way. I can easily go through a month spending less than $20 in physical cash money. When I was in high school, I read a statistic that of al US dollars in existence, only about 1/3 were in physical currency and coin form. This is now more like 8%. Japan for all its technological advancements, was slower in moving away from cash, but they're catching up. I still kind of doubt that cash will ever disappear entirely, or at least not anytime soon. Electronic payments solve a lot of problems, but also cause some. Cash is anonymous, and there's both good and bad that comes from that, but if you don't really have money in your own hand, you don't truly have 100% control of it. To at least some small degree you're forced to put your trust in someone else that it's safe. I'm not especially paranoid or conspiratorial, but there is some value in holding something anonymously and independently, and I think there always will be. Besides, bank cards look boring in an album lol.
Cash has always accounted for about 40-50% of transactions in the past. It never was the main way we paid for things but opponents of cash (The Better than Cash Alliance) BTCA actively promote myths like cash causes crime, it was a vector for Covid or that getting a CC will help women become independent. The average Joe seems oblivious to the fact that since the arrival of credit cards (& media/ads promoting the avg consumer to take on greater amounts of debt), that opportunities to use cash has gone from minor decline to a rapid rate. Cash use is seriously threatened globally. Honestly @Troodon, I feel that assuming cash will never disappear is dangerous b/c retailers, government & law enforcement all seem bent on removing our rights to use cash. The BTCA actively support co to not use cash & spread propaganda that cash is dirty, criminal oriented, etc. Check out this article from BBC with its prediction that cash will no longer be an option in the UK by 2026. The biggest problem (obviously) is personal debt. I honestly don't mind electronic payments but am truly alarmed how few cash-check outs remains here in Canada. Personal debt has become a huge problem (just like the housing crises). Very few people talk about this. Everyone I know seems to embrace going cashless (even though it has a terrible long term affect)! Please check out this DW German documentary (in English) entitled, "How cash is becoming a thing of the past." Absolutely! Well put! But to be honest, I am becoming paranoid of the BTCA conspiracy to make cash a thing of the past. I think it's disgusting that it continues to grow (& is supported by the UN). I think we should all be aware of their silly campaign to denigrate cash esp when electronic money laundering is much more catastrophic than physical money laundering.
