Toshiba and 25 other companies, financial institutions and local government bodies have joined a six-month program testing Japan's EJPY yen stablecoin. Participants will trial the token across payments, remittances and digital asset settlement through February 2027, without committing to launch a stablecoin service.
Toshiba has joined 25 other participants in a six-month program testing EJPY and other stablecoin use cases in Japan, the Japan Blockchain Foundation said. The Stablecoin Proof of Concept Partners program started in September and runs until February 2027, giving participants access to test EJPY tokens, wallets and the Japan Open Chain infrastructure needed to build and verify potential services.
Toshiba joins a broad list of participants
Toshiba is taking part alongside SCSK, QUICK, Seiko Solutions, Hachijuni Nagano Bank, Asahi Broadcasting Group Holdings, Tobu Top Tours and several other technology and financial services firms, while Tagawa City has joined from the public sector. Sixteen participants have been named so far, with another 10 to be disclosed once discussions with those companies are completed.
The program moves EJPY beyond the preparation work outlined earlier this year and into testing with businesses that could eventually use stablecoins for real transactions. The foundation is developing EJPY as a trust-based, yen-denominated stablecoin centered on Japan Open Chain, an Ethereum-compatible Layer 1 blockchain run by a consortium of Japanese companies.
Testing spans payments, settlement and Web3
Participants will examine potential applications across domestic payments and remittances, cross-border transactions, business-to-business settlements, and payments involving digital assets such as real-world assets and security tokens. Other areas include Web3 services, local government and regional economy payments, and new financial services built around stablecoins.
Companies will develop use cases based on their own business needs rather than a single predefined payment model, and participation does not commit any company to issuing, handling or commercially launching a stablecoin. Japan Open Chain was previously reported to be preparing the yen-pegged token for B2B settlement, with Ethereum support planned from the start, though launch terms and timing had yet to be finalized at the time.
EJPY joins other yen stablecoin trials
EJPY enters testing as other Japanese businesses push stablecoins into existing payment systems. Convenience store operator Lawson expanded a stablecoin trial in August to include JPYC, USDC and USDT at two Tokyo stores, processing wallet barcodes through its existing point-of-sale registers. Separately, logistics group AZ COM Maruwa Holdings has laid out plans to use JPYC for payments involving roughly 2,300 business partners and contractors, including truck drivers.
Banks are moving in parallel. MUFG Bank, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation and Mizuho Bank are targeting live stablecoin transactions during fiscal 2026, which ends in March 2027. The Financial Services Agency established a dedicated Cryptocurrency and Stablecoin Division in August, bringing digital asset supervision under a standalone department.
Participation in the EJPY program is free and open to businesses, financial institutions and local governments considering stablecoin payment infrastructure, remittance services or blockchain-based digital transformation.
Source: crypto.news
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