Top > What's up around the Prime Minister > November, 2004

Prime Minister Koizumi Visits the Bank of Japan Monday, November 1, 2004 Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi visited the Head Office of the Bank of Japan which started the issuance of new bank notes. Three types of newly designed bank notes were issued this day, including the 10,000 yen note, 5,000 yen note and 1,000 yen note. The portrait of Yukichi Fukuzawa, an enlightenment philosopher of the Meiji era will continue to be used on the new 10,000 yen note. The portraits on the 5,000 yen note and 1,000 yen note have been changed to Ichiyo Higuchi, a female novelist of the Meiji era and Hideyo Noguchi, a bacteriologist, respectively. As measures against counterfeiting, the new bills have been enhanced with techniques such as a "hologram" which makes the colors and patterns of the image seem to change according to the viewing angle and "pearl ink" which makes translucent patterns with a pinkish pearly shine appear in the left and right margins of the bill when held at different angles. Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi visited the accounting office for issuance and storage of large volume of bills and took a commemorative picture with Mr. Toshihiko Fukui, the Governor of the Bank of Japan, holding the bill with the smallest serial number "A000001A." After the picture, Prime Minister Koizumi said, "The economic effect of this issuance of new bills is yet to be seen, but I hope the Japanese economy will recover steadily."