The Case of the 2000 yen Note

Look what I've got ... jealous?!

OK ... probably not but anyway...

When I came to Japan back in 2000 I seemed to have an abundance of 2000 yen notes given to me by the Japanese government. Not knowing a lot about Japan at the time I didn't think much of it, only upon returning in 2004 did I realise that you are NEVER seem to come across them.

I've since found out that these notes were in fact commissioned in July 2000 to commemorate the millenium year and the G8 Economic Summit in Okinawa. Perhaps this is why I seemed to have a whole stack of these last time I came, in 2000?

BUT then when my brother came to Japan in summer 2004, again with PV, he seemed to have in his possession lots of 2000 yen notes too. So perhaps it wasn't because it was the year 2000 that I had so many of these but rather that it was the Japanese government's bizarre way of getting the money into circulation; through British teenagers they'd invited to their country?!

Wikipedia says ... "These notes are hard to find and many Japanese consider it a novelty as it is the only denomination in the factor of 2. Some say it was a way to stimulate the economy from building new vending machines to be able to process the note, to creating wider cash registers to handle the bill. This hasn't really materialised. Some businesses will refuse this note. To increase the circulation of the notes, some companies started paying wages in these notes".

Anyway so this is my first 2000 yen note (this time around in Japan) and I received it in Okinawa, perhaps there are more of them knocking around down there? I think it's just a coincidence that they depict a famous gate in Naha, Okinawa and were to commemorate the G8 summit, but fitting none the less.

As it's the first one I've received and I almost went through the whole two years without ever seeing one, I really think I should keep it. But then again it's a whole £10 of money just sat in my desk at work ...