The Yomiuri Shimbun
Japan Mint officials use scales to check the weight of Japanese coins at the Japan Mint in Kita Ward, Osaka, on Nov. 10.
16:50 JST, November 29, 2025&
OSAKA — An annual test to verify that Japanese coins have been made to required weight standards has been conducted at the Japan Mint in Kita Ward, Osaka — and the coins passed with flying colors.
Banknotes circulated in Japan are printed at the National Printing Bureau in Tokyo, but coins from ¥1 to ¥500 are made at the Japan Mint, which has its head office in Osaka. The weight test, which is conducted to ensure the reliability of Japanese currency, started in 1872, the year after the mint was established. The test on Nov. 10 was the 154th time it had been held.
A total of ten types of coins were tested, including a commemorative coin issued for the 2025 Osaka-Kansai Expo featuring the official mascot Myaku-Myaku and coins produced over the past year or so since the previous test until late October. As many officials watched, Japan Mint employees used manual balances and electronic scales to weigh a total of 23,430 randomly selected coins and carefully checked whether any were outside the specified weight limits.
After all the coins were confirmed to be within permissible weights, it was reported to a Finance Ministry’s official that they passed this year’s test.
AloJapan.com