From next month (July 3), Japan will issue new versions of banknotes, with three denominations of 10,000 yen, 5,000 yen and 1,000 yen.
This is the first time in 20 years since 2004 that Japan has issued a newly designed banknote.
The new 10,000 yen banknote is printed with Eiichi Shibusawa, known as the "father of Japanese capitalism", "the father of Japanese industry and commerce", and "the leader of Japan's modern economy".
10,000 yen denomination▼
The character printed on the new 5,000 yen note is Umeko Tsuda, a Japanese educator.
5000 yen denomination▼
The new version of 1,000 yen is printed with the face of bacteriologist and physician Shibazaburo Kitasato.
1,000 yen denomination▼
There is still one month left before the release of the new banknotes, but with the release of the new banknotes, it has become difficult for many shops that can only accept cash......
The reporter came to a popular ramen shop in Kasugai City, Aichi Prefecture, and the popular menu of this shop is special tsukemen.
There is an old-fashioned vending machine at the entrance of the store, and customers need to put in the banknotes when they enter the store, then select the menu to buy, and after choosing, a small meal ticket will pop up in the machine, and the customer needs to hand the meal ticket to the clerk.
However, it is not uncommon in Japan to see such cash-only restaurants.
According to the person in charge of the ramen shop, the ticket vending machine in the store is not yet able to cope with the new version of the banknote, and the new banknote will be replaced next month, and the machine will need to be replaced as a whole.
In addition, it would cost about 1.7 million yen (about 78,000 yuan) to replace such a machine.
As prices and electricity and gas bills are rising in Japan, the financial burden on businesses will be further increased.
Many vending machine merchants have also received a lot of orders recently, which has also caused some stores to be too late to replace their machines before the new banknotes are issued next month.
Some shops can only prepare old banknotes in advance and replace them with customers who need them.
One shopkeeper said, "The cost of replacing the machine is very expensive, and the burden on the store will be greatly increased. Especially for a small store like ours, it's too difficult. But it's also something that can't be helped. ”
In addition, many pachinko (pachinko stores) in Japan also have many machines that can only accept paper money.
A person in charge said that the new banknotes will be replaced next month, and the cost will increase greatly, and some machines only need to replace the system, but some machines from more than 10 years ago will be completely replaced.
In this case, Oguchi Town, Aichi Prefecture, plans to provide financial assistance to small and medium-sized enterprises that need to replace their vending machines.
Half of the cost of renewing the vending machines will be covered by the local government, and the maximum subsidy amount is 500,000 yen.
With the issuance of the new version of the banknote, the Bank of Japan reminds the public that the old version of the banknote currently in use can continue to be used, and it is necessary to be aware of the opportunity for criminals to carry out fraud.