Nikkei reported that major Japanese banks and brokerages are collaborating to tokenize government bonds and introduce a 24/7 trading system by the end of this year. The core of the initiative is to issue government bonds as blockchain-based digital securities (security tokens) and settle them with stablecoins, thereby converting the current T+1 settlement to T+0 same-day settlement. The first target is the approximately $16 trillion repo market (as of end-2024), of which Japan accounts for about 10%. A development organization will be launched in May, centered around MUFJ's stablecoin platform Progmat, with participation from the three mega-banks (Mitsubishi UFJ Bank, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, Mizuho Bank), Tokio Marine Holdings, Daiwa Securities, SBI Securities, BlackRock Japan, and State Street.
