JPY · Japan
Japan issued a new banknote series on 3 July 2024, covering the 1,000, 5,000 and 10,000 yen notes. Its headline feature is a three-dimensional holographic portrait that appears to turn as the note is tilted, the first use of the technique on banknotes anywhere. The previous series remains legal tender and circulates alongside it, as do older Japanese notes, Japan has not demonetised its currency, so several designs are valid at once.
Features published by the Bank of Japan.
On the 2024 series the portrait is reproduced as a hologram that appears to rotate, so the face seems to turn towards you as the note is tilted. This is the most distinctive feature of the new notes and the hardest to imitate.
How to check: Tilt the note slowly from side to side and watch the face turn. A counterfeit reproduces a flat printed or foil image that does not rotate.
A watermark formed within the paper repeats the note's portrait. Alongside it, fine high-definition watermark patterns are formed in the paper, a Japanese speciality, reproduced as very sharp lines and shapes rather than soft shading.
How to check: Hold the note to the light. The portrait watermark should be visible from both sides and vanish when the note lies flat. Look also for the finer patterned watermark, whose sharpness is very difficult to reproduce.
Characters concealed in the intaglio printing become visible only at a shallow viewing angle, the denomination appears in one area and the word NIPPON in another.
How to check: Hold the note almost flat at eye level and tilt it. The hidden characters should appear and then disappear as the angle changes.
Semi-transparent pearlescent ink is applied at the left and right edges of the front of the note, showing a pinkish-purple lustre at certain angles.
How to check: Tilt the note and look along the left and right edges of the front. A faint pink to purple sheen should appear and fade with the angle.
Under ultraviolet light the Governor's seal on the front glows orange, and parts of the background pattern fluoresce, while the paper itself stays dull.
How to check: A counter check under a UV lamp. The seal in particular should glow distinctly rather than the whole note glowing evenly.
The characters NIPPONGINKO are printed in microscopic type at several points in the background design.
How to check: Use a magnifier. On a genuine note the characters are sharp and fully formed; consumer printers reduce them to a smudge.
The portrait, the denomination and much of the lettering are printed by intaglio and stand above the surface of the paper.
How to check: Run a fingernail over the portrait and the large numerals for a distinctly ridged feel.
Raised marks on the note allow blind and partially sighted users to identify the denomination by touch. On the 2024 series the marks are positioned differently for each value.
How to check: Run a fingertip over the marks near the edges. They should be firmly raised and easy to feel.
What changes from one note to the next, once you have run the general checks above.
The 2024 series ¥1,000 carries a portrait of the bacteriologist Kitasato Shibasaburō, with Hokusai's Great Wave off Kanagawa on the back. The previous series carried Noguchi Hideyo and remains legal tender.
Tilt the note to check the 3-D holographic portrait turning, then look for the pearl ink sheen along the left and right edges and the latent image at a shallow angle.
Hold it to the light for the portrait watermark and the fine high-definition watermark patterns.
The 2024 series ¥5,000 carries a portrait of the educator Tsuda Umeko, with wisteria flowers on the back. The previous series carried Higuchi Ichiyō and remains legal tender.
Run the same sequence: the rotating 3-D holographic portrait when tilted, the pearl ink at the edges, the latent image at a shallow angle, and the watermarks held to the light.
Check the tactile mark position, which differs from the ¥1,000 and ¥10,000.
The 2024 series ¥10,000 carries a portrait of the industrialist Shibusawa Eiichi, with Tokyo Station on the back. The previous series carried Fukuzawa Yukichi and remains legal tender.
As the highest denomination it is the one most worth checking in full: the rotating 3-D holographic portrait, the portrait and high-definition watermarks against the light, the latent image at a shallow angle, the pearl ink at the edges, the microprinted NIPPONGINKO under a magnifier and the raised intaglio print.
The ¥10,000 is the note Japanese ATMs dispense by default, so most travellers will be handed these and will need to break them early in the trip.
Source: National Printing Bureau of Japan, banknote security features
Every note is checked at the counter. Call or WhatsApp your nearest Mythri Forex branch.
Mythri Forex Kukatpally