Japan issued new banknotes for the first time in 20 years on Wednesday.
A ceremony was held in the morning at the head office of the Bank of Japan in Tokyo's Nihonbashi.
BOJ Governor Ueda Kazuo said that the bank plans to put 1.6 trillion yen, or about 9.9 billion dollars, worth of new banknotes into circulation on the day.
He said that while cashless transactions are becoming more prevalent, he believes that cash will continue to play a major role as it is a reliable payment method that can be used by anyone, anywhere and at any time.
Ueda added he hopes that the new notes will become widely distributed among the public and serve as a lubricant for the Japanese economy.
Shortly after 8 a.m., the central bank handed over batches of the new banknotes to financial institutions. Many financial institutions are expected to limit the handling of the new notes to select branches on Wednesday.
The face of the new 10,000-yen note is Shibusawa Eiichi, a businessman known as the father of the modern Japanese economy. He was involved in the launch or development of about 500 businesses.
The new 5,000-yen note features Tsuda Umeko, who was among the first Japanese women to go abroad for education.
The new 1,000-yen note has a portrait of Kitasato Shibasaburo, a bacteriologist who developed a cure for tetanus.
Under the latest redesign, the banknotes incorporate the latest hologram technology to make them more difficult to counterfeit. The National Printing Bureau said this is the first time the technology has been used on banknotes worldwide.
They also feature universal design elements, with the denomination displayed more prominently in numerals than in kanji characters to make them easier for foreigners to use.