Japan to issue 3 new bank notes in FY 2004

TOKYO, Japan - The Japanese government will introduce in fiscal 2004 new 10,000 yen, 5,000 yen and 1,000 yen bills with sophisticated anticounterfeit features, replacing the current notes which are almost 18 years old. The new 5,000 yen bill will carry the portrait of Ichiyo Higuchi (1872-1896), a Meiji-era novelist and poet, while the new 1,000 yen bill will feature Japanese microbiologist Hideyo Noguchi (1876-1928). Yukichi Fukuzawa, a Meiji-era educator who founded Keio University, will remain on the new 10,000 yen bill.