Hachijuni Nagano Bank, Ltd.

Japan Blockchain Infrastructure announced on September 24 that it has launched the Stablecoin Proof-of-Concept Partners program, which will jointly examine uses for stablecoins with operating companies, financial institutions, and local governments. Twenty-six companies have already expressed interest since the call for participants opened, and over roughly six months, from September 2026 to February 2027, they will study potential applications across a wide range of areas at no participation cost, including domestic and international remittances and payments, business-to-business transactions, settlement of digital assets such as real estate, and payments in Web3 services. Among the companies that have publicly announced their participation are 16 names including Toshiba, SCSK, Asahi Broadcasting Group Holdings, the regional bank Hachijuni Nagano Bank, and Tagawa City in Fukuoka Prefecture, with the remaining 10 to be announced in sequence going forward. The company explains that simply issuing a stablecoin is not enough for it to take hold as next-generation payment infrastructure, and that it is important to flesh out how it will be used in actual operations and services and what value it will create. Centered on the trust-type Japanese yen-denominated stablecoin EJPY, which is under preparation, it will support participating companies in building use cases through study sessions, individual consultations, and the provision of a testing environment using test coins. Japan Blockchain Infrastructure has stated it plans to issue EJPY in May 2026, and at the time of that announcement its validators numbered 14 companies including Dentsu and pixiv, with a plan to eventually expand to 21 companies, but according to the ecosystem list on its official website, nine companies are currently listed. Japan's domestic yen-denominated stablecoins consist of two issues, SBI's trust-type JPYSC and JPYC, with total issuance reaching about 31 billion yen.