Another lawmaker in Japan has called for the rapid development of the digital yen.

Head of the banking and finance systems research commission within the Liberal Democratic Party in Japan, Kozo Yamamoto announced on Monday that the country should launch a digital yen within the coming two to three years.

On Monday, Reuters reported that Yamamoto stated plans for the CBDC (central bank digital currency) should be part of the government’s mid-year policy guidelines.

The lawmaker added that digital currencies could grow rapidly in emerging economies and assist China – who is currently working on its CBDC – to progress with its digital domination.

As such, Coin Telegraph reports, Yamamoto said the development of the digital yen should happen quickly: “The sooner the better. We’ll draft proposals to be included in government’s policy guidelines, and hopefully make it happen in two-to-three years. [...] If each country manages to control flows of money with their own (digital) currencies, that could prevent a big swing at a time of crisis and stabilize their own economy.”

The statements from Yamamoto follow those of Akira Amari, former economy minister and ruling party member, who stated he wanted to issue a CBDC to rival China’s forthcoming digital yuan. 

Yamamoto went on to say that although the growth of central bank digital currencies could challenge the dollar’s supremacy, it could also help to stabilise emerging markets depending on the dollar, such as Cambodia.

Lawmakers in Japan have called on the government recently to strive for digital currencies to be part of the G7’s agenda in 2020. In addition, at the end of last month, the Bank of Japan’s deputy governor said the central bank must be prepared to issue a CBDC if public demand were to skyrocket in line with technological advancements.

In the meantime, the central bank of China has recently finalised the top-layer design and joint testing of the digital yuan, reports Coin Telegraph.