Japanese Yen (JPY)
円 · Official currency of Japan
JPY at a glance
Every fact on this page is drawn from Bank of Japan or another primary source — see the 10 sources cited below.
| Currency | Japanese Yen |
|---|---|
| ISO 4217 code | JPY · number 392 |
| Symbol | 円 |
| Minor unit | None |
| Used in | 1 country or territory |
| Pegged to | Not pegged |
| Central bank | Bank of Japan |
| Official rates | Bank of Japan → |
| Introduced | 1871 |
Where the Japanese Yen is used
- Japan
Exchange rate regime Free float
The yen has floated freely since February 1973, its exchange rate determined by market supply and demand. Japan's Minister of Finance is legally authorized to conduct foreign exchange intervention to stabilize the rate, which the Bank of Japan executes as the ministry's agent.
About the Japanese Yen
The Japanese Yen (JPY) is the official currency of Japan, written with the symbol ¥ internationally and the kanji 円 domestically, and issued by the Bank of Japan, the sole issuer of banknotes under Article 46 of the Bank of Japan Act. The yen has no circulating minor unit: the smallest denomination is the ¥1 coin, and cash amounts are settled in whole yen. Its ISO 4217 alphabetic code is JPY and its numeric code is 392.
The yen has floated freely since February 1973, when Japan left the postwar fixed-rate system, and its value is determined by supply and demand in the foreign exchange market. Japan's Minister of Finance is legally authorized, under the Foreign Exchange and Foreign Trade Act, to intervene in the market as a means to stabilize the exchange rate; the Bank of Japan, acting as the minister's agent, executes any such intervention in accordance with those directions.
The yen was adopted under the New Currency Act of 1871, when the Meiji government replaced Edo-period coinage with a decimal currency of round coins — one origin given for the name, since yen means "circle" in Japanese. The act also created the sen, one hundredth of a yen, and the rin, one thousandth; every denomination below one yen was voided in 1953. The Bank of Japan was established under the Bank of Japan Act of 1882 and commenced operations on October 10, 1882.
The yen is the third most traded currency in the world after the US dollar and the euro: it was on one side of 16.8 percent of all over-the-counter foreign exchange trades in April 2025, a share roughly unchanged since 2019, according to the BIS Triennial Central Bank Survey 2025. Global foreign exchange turnover measured by that survey reached 9.6 trillion US dollars per day in April 2025.
Cash circulates in four banknote denominations — ¥1,000, ¥2,000, ¥5,000 and ¥10,000 — and six coins from ¥1 to ¥500. On July 3, 2024 the Bank of Japan issued a redesigned series featuring Shibusawa Eiichi (¥10,000), Tsuda Umeko (¥5,000) and Kitasato Shibasaburo (¥1,000), the first new designs since 2004; their tilting 3-D hologram portraits are described by the Bank as a first for banknotes. The ¥2,000 note, issued in 2000, was not redesigned and is rarely seen.
JPY coins & banknotes
- ¥1
- ¥5
- ¥10
- ¥50
- ¥100
- ¥500
- ¥1,000
- ¥2,000 (rare)
- ¥5,000
- ¥10,000
JPY quick facts
- Beyond the hologram, the 2024 banknotes hide microprinting reading "NIPPONGINKO" too fine for a copier, plus ink that glows under ultraviolet light.
- Coin materials vary by denomination: the ¥1 coin is pure aluminum at 1 gram; the ¥500 coin, restyled in 2021, is a copper-zinc-nickel alloy at 7.1 grams.
- The ¥2,000 note (issued July 19, 2000) is the only current note with no front portrait — it shows Shurei Gate there, Murasaki Shikibu on the back.
- The Bank of Japan has issued 56 kinds of banknotes since 1885; 25 remain valid, the other 31 voided by three conversions, most recently in 1953.
- The Bank of Japan ended negative interest rates and yield curve control on March 19, 2024, and raised its policy rate in stages to around 1.0% by June 2026.
JPY frequently asked questions
What is the symbol for the Japanese yen?
The international symbol for the Japanese yen is ¥, and in Japan amounts are usually written with the kanji 円 after the number. The ISO 4217 code is JPY and the numeric code is 392. The yen has no circulating subunit, so cash prices are always quoted in whole yen — the smallest denomination is the ¥1 coin.
Is the Japanese yen pegged to the US dollar?
No. The yen has floated freely since February 1973, and its exchange rate is determined by supply and demand in the foreign exchange market. Japan's Minister of Finance may order foreign exchange intervention to stabilize the rate, executed by the Bank of Japan as agent, but there is no fixed rate, central parity or band against the US dollar or any other currency.
Who issues the Japanese yen?
The Bank of Japan is the sole issuer of Japanese banknotes, as stipulated by Article 46 of the Bank of Japan Act; the Bank has operated since October 10, 1882. Banknotes are issued in four denominations — ¥1,000, ¥2,000, ¥5,000 and ¥10,000 — and circulate alongside six coin denominations from ¥1 to ¥500.
Why does the yen have no cents or other subunit?
The subunits created with the yen in 1871 — the sen, worth 1/100 of a yen, and the rin, worth 1/1,000 — lost their purchasing power over the following decades, and Japan voided all denominations below one yen in 1953. Since then the smallest money in circulation has been the ¥1 coin, and every cash amount is a whole number of yen.
Explore JPY
Facts on this page are sourced from Bank of Japan and other primary references (10 sources). Rates are mid-market and for information only.
Sources for this JPY profile
10 primary sources behind the facts above, each listed with the sections of this page it is cited for. Links open on the publisher's own site.
- Bank of Japan www.boj.or.jp/en/intl_finance/outline/expkainyu.htm Cited for: Exchange rate regime · About · FAQ
- Bank of Japan www.boj.or.jp/en/note_tfjgs/note/valid/issue.htm Cited for: Coins & banknotes · About · Quick facts
- Bank of Japan www.boj.or.jp/en/note_tfjgs/note/n_note/security.htm Cited for: Coins & banknotes · Quick facts
- Bank of Japan Currency Museum www.imes.boj.or.jp/cm/english/FAQs/FAQcurrency/ Cited for: Introduced · About
- Bank of Japan www.boj.or.jp/en/about/education/oshiete/money/c07.htm Cited for: Minor unit · Quick facts · FAQ
- Bank of Japan www.boj.or.jp/en/about/education/oshiete/money/c02.htm Cited for: About · FAQ
- Bank of Japan www.boj.or.jp/en/about/outline/history/index.htm Cited for: About · FAQ
- Bank for International Settlements www.bis.org/statistics/rpfx25_fx.htm Cited for: About
- Bank of Japan www.boj.or.jp/en/mopo/mpmdeci/state_2024/k240319a.htm Cited for: Quick facts
- Bank of Japan www.boj.or.jp/en/mopo/mpmdeci/mpr_2026/k260616a.pdf Cited for: Quick facts