Japan’s top three megabanks plan a joint stablecoin launch by March 2027 under trust structure.
Stablecoin News
MUFG Bank, Mizuho Bank, and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC) have agreed to issue a shared stablecoin before the end of fiscal year 2026. Japan's fiscal year ends in March 2027, setting a firm deadline for the first live commercial transactions. The three banks confirmed the plan in a joint statement published June 10.
The stablecoin will be issued under a trust agreement, with all three banks serving as joint settlors. A trust bank or comparable institution will act as trustee under that arrangement. The banks stated the initiative is aimed at supporting a wide range of potential use cases, though no specific applications have been named.
A Governance Council Before Launch
The three institutions have agreed to establish a dedicated council ahead of the stablecoin's launch. That council will develop operational frameworks and governance structures for the issuance. The council was described as a preparatory step before any live transactions take place.
The partnership traces back to October 2025, when the three banks first joined forces to examine how multiple banking groups can co-issue stablecoins under Japanese law. Japan's Financial Services Agency (FSA) formally backed the project in November 2025, confirming it aims to verify that such a system can operate lawfully under existing financial regulations. The project sits within the FSA's FinTech Proof-of-Concept Hub, a program that has supported financial technology experiments since 2017.
Japan's Stablecoin Market Takes Shape
The regulatory foundation for the initiative was laid in 2023. Japan amended its Payment Services Act that year to introduce the legal category of electronic payment instruments. Those amendments allowed registered service providers and banks to issue and manage stablecoins for the first time.
Several private-sector players moved into the space after that change. Fintech company JPYC Inc launched what was described as Japan's first legally recognized yen-denominated stablecoin in October 2025. SBI Holdings and Startale Group followed in February 2026 with JPYSC, a trust-bank-backed yen stablecoin built for institutional and cross-border use. In May 2026, the Japan Blockchain Foundation announced EJPY, a yen-pegged stablecoin designed to run on both Japan Open Chain and Ethereum ($ETH).
The megabank initiative adds three of Japan's most systemically significant financial institutions to a market that has been building for roughly two years. The governance council is expected to complete its review ahead of the March 2027 launch window.
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