REGIONAL OFFICE FOR ASIA AND THE PACIFIC (OAP)

Asia-Pacific Regional Seminar

Central Bank Digital Currency: Global Landscape and Japan’s Approach

The global central banking community is actively exploring Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs), which are expected to have a fundamental impact on both domestic and international monetary systems. While each country has different motivations and challenges, a broad set of common questions has emerged across the globe. The IMF Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific hosted a regional seminar about the digital currency’s global landscape and Japan’s approach with three guest speakers from the IMF, the Bank of Japan and a Tokyo-based thinktank. This seminar highlighted the IMF’s prominent role in assisting member countries including through the CBDC Handbook, and shared the experiences and insights in the exploration of digital money in Japan.

Agenda:

IMF Policy Paper: IMF Approach to Central Bank Digital Currency Capacity Development

Speakers:

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  Dong HE is Deputy Director of the Monetary and Capital Markets Department (MCM) of the International Monetary Fund. He has oversight responsibility for MCM’s work on digital currencies and fintech. Prior to joining MCM in 2014, He worked at the World Bank (1993-1998), the IMF (1998-2004), and the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (2004-2014). At the HKMA, he was Executive Director responsible for directing research and policy advice on issues relating to the maintenance of monetary and financial stability and the development of financial markets. He was also Director of the Hong Kong Institute for Monetary Research. Dong holds a doctorate in economics from the University of Cambridge. 

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  Naoto Shimoda is an Associate Director-General in the Payment and Settlement Systems Department of the Bank of Japan. He is playing a leading role in the CBDC project, cross-border payments and international technical standards. He has also served as the head of Basel Committee on Banking Supervision team in the BOJ, the head of BOJ’s Hong Kong office, and a Director of International Financial Affairs at Japan’s Ministry of Finance, since he joined the Bank in 1992. He studied law at Hitotsubashi University and computer science at Harvard University.

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  Hiromi Yamaoka is the Board Director of Future Corporation and the Head of Future Institute of Research. He is now the Chairperson of the Digital Currency Forum, which consists of around 100 leading companies in Japan. In previous roles he served as the Director General of the Markets Dept. and the Payment and Settlement Systems Dept of the Bank of Japan. He also served as the Member of the Basel Committee and the Alternate Executive Director for Japan in the IMF. He holds LL.B. from University of Tokyo and LL.M. from University of California at Berkeley.