Japan’s transport and tourism minister, Tatsunori Ibayashi, said on October 21 that the government would consider using stablecoins to refund consumption tax to foreign visitors. Starting on November 1, tourists will pay the tax at checkout and receive a refund only after customs confirms that the goods are leaving the country. Yen-backed stablecoins could speed up refunds and reduce their cost by sending payments directly to a digital wallet, potentially around the clock. However, no measure has been approved, and wallet security, identity checks, anti-money-laundering rules, tourist access and currency conversion remain unresolved. JPYC and Japan Tax-Free partnered in March to explore this use case, while the global stablecoin market stands at about $301 billion, with just $156 million backed by the yen.
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