Old yen notes in 2026: are pre-2024 banknotes still legal tender?

⚡ 30-Second Answer: Old ¥10,000 (Fukuzawa) / ¥5,000 (Higuchi) / ¥1,000 (Noguchi) are still in active circulation, accepted everywhere. Even older generations (Shotoku Taishi, Soseki) aren't legally retired but should be exchanged at a bank for the latest design. Tourists with old notes in their wallet need not worry.

Quick Reference	Value
Old ¥10,000 Fukuzawa	Still accepted
Old ¥5,000 Higuchi	Still accepted
Old ¥1,000 Noguchi	Still accepted
Older generations	Exchange at bank
Last verified	June 2026

Yes — every Bank of Japan banknote issued since 1885 is still legal tender today. That means the pre-2024 series you might have left over from a previous trip (Fukuzawa Yukichi ¥10,000, Higuchi Ichiyō ¥5,000, Noguchi Hideyo ¥1,000) is fully spendable in 2026. The 2024 redesign (Shibusawa Eiichi ¥10,000, Tsuda Umeko ¥5,000, Kitasato Shibasaburō ¥1,000) is a parallel issue, not a replacement. Banks, ATMs, big retailers, and most stores accept both interchangeably. And here's the 2026 twist most guides get backwards: the friction runs the other way — it's the new 2024 notes that a meaningful share of vending machines and ramen-shop ticket machines still can't read, because operators have been slow to update the hardware. Your old Fukuzawa note is the safer one to feed a machine.

TL;DR

• All Bank of Japan notes since 1885 are legal tender — Article 46 of the Bank of Japan Act
• Pre-2024 ¥1,000 / ¥5,000 / ¥10,000 are fully spendable in 2026, no exchange needed
• 2024 redesign (Shibusawa / Tsuda / Kitasato) is in parallel circulation, not replacement
• Friction points (reversed): it's the 2024 new notes that ~30% of vending/ticket machines still reject; old notes work almost everywhere
• If a shop refuses: deposit at any bank, ATM, or post office to swap into the new design

If you've got the Fukuzawa note on the left in your wallet, relax: it spends everywhere in 2026, machines included. Don't rush to swap it for the new Shibusawa note on the right.

The legal basis

Under Article 46 of the Bank of Japan Act, banknotes issued by the Bank of Japan are legal tender "without limit". The Bank of Japan has issued — and as a matter of policy continues to honor — every banknote it has ever issued since the Bank of Japan was founded in 1885. That includes:

• Meiji-era convertible notes (1885+)
• Early Showa Bank of Japan notes
• The 1946 currency reform Yamato-class notes
• The 1958–1984 Iwakura/Itagaki/Shotoku series (one famous edge case below)

💡 Got a genuinely old note (Shotoku Taishi ¥10,000, Soseki ¥1,000)? It's still legal tender, but a tourist won't get a Japanese megabank (MUFG/SMBC/Mizuho) to swap it without an account — they mostly decline non-resident counter exchange or charge heavily. Realistic options: a Bank of Japan branch, or simply keep it as a souvenir / sell to a collector (Mercari, eBay) where it may fetch above face value.

• The 1984 Fukuzawa series (¥10,000 with Fukuzawa)
• The 2004 Fukuzawa-second series (¥10,000 with hologram)
• The 2024 Shibusawa series (current design)

Practical exception: pre-1946 wartime currency was demonetized at the 1946 currency reform. Anything you'll plausibly have as a tourist from the last 80 years is fine.

Why the 2024 redesign happened

The redesign is not about retiring old notes. The Bank of Japan does a major banknote redesign roughly every 20 years for anti-counterfeiting reasons. The 2024 series adds:

• 3D holographic portrait (rotates as you tilt the note)
• High-definition watermark patterns
• Microprint upgrades
• Updated tactile marks for the visually impaired

Counterfeit yen is rare to begin with, but the 20-year refresh cycle keeps the security tech ahead of consumer-grade printing technology. Old notes don't become illegal — they just become a known-quantity authentication problem that the new notes solve more elegantly. See article #93 for the counterfeit-yen reality.

Where the old notes work fine (i.e. almost everywhere)

• All banks and ATMs: Seven Bank, Japan Post, AEON, FamilyMart e-net, Lawson Bank — every ATM in Japan accepts pre-2024 notes on deposit (and dispenses a mix of old and new on withdrawal as inventory rotates).
• All major retailers: convenience-store chains, supermarkets, department stores, drugstore chains, restaurant chains
• Train station ticket machines: JR, private rail, subways — all accept old notes
• Most independent shops and restaurants: a pre-2024 ¥1,000 in cash is functionally identical to a 2024 ¥1,000 from the staff's perspective

Where you might hit friction

Vending machines and ticket machines — and which note to use

Here's the part nearly every other guide gets wrong. Two years after the 2024 redesign, hardware updates are still incomplete — roughly a third of vending machines and small-shop ticket machines (ramen counters, etc.) cannot yet read the NEW 2024 notes. Old notes (Fukuzawa, Noguchi) are read by essentially all of them. So:

• If you have both, feed the machine your OLD note — it's the one with near-100% acceptance
• Don't bother swapping old notes for new before a trip; you'd be trading the reliable note for the occasionally-rejected one
• Stuck with only new notes a machine won't take? Use coins (¥100/¥500 always work) or an IC card (Suica/PASMO/ICOCA), which sidesteps cash recognition entirely

Older QR-payment top-up terminals

A small number of PayPay / au PAY / d-pay cash-top-up terminals (the ones inside some convenience stores) have lagged on 2024-design recognition. Drop the cash into a Seven Bank ATM and load via the bank route instead.

Small countryside shops with old cash registers

Two years on, almost nobody mistakes the 2024 notes for fakes anymore — the real edge case is hardware: an old automatic cash register or coin/change machine that hasn't been updated for the new note's hologram and simply won't feed it through. The fix is the same as the vending machines: pay with your old note, coins, or an IC card. It's a machine limitation, not a refusal.

What if a place actually refuses an old note?

This is genuinely rare, but if it happens:

1. Don't argue — it's not worth the hassle. Use a different note (try the 2024 design if you have one, or coins).
2. Deposit the old note at any bank, post office, or Seven Bank ATM. The bank will swap it into new-design notes on your next withdrawal automatically.
3. Keep one or two old high-denomination notes as souvenirs if you want — they retain their face value forever, no expiration.

👉 Old notes deposit fine at a Seven Bank ATM — here's how a Wise card pairs with 7-Eleven ATMs for cash in and out →

What about old commemorative coins?

Same rule: all Bank of Japan commemorative coins since their issue date are legal tender at face value. So the ¥500 Showa-era commemorative, the ¥1,000 Tokyo Olympic 2020 silver, etc. all spend like normal coins (though numismatic value may exceed face value — don't spend a rare one at a vending machine).

Practical guidance for tourists

• Bringing leftover old yen from a previous Japan trip? Spend it normally. Don't bother trying to exchange it for the new design.
• About to leave Japan with old yen? It's still worth its face value — convert via Pocket Change, spend at the airport convenience store, or save for your next trip.

👉 Turn leftover yen (old or new) into digital currency or a gift card with Pocket Change →

• Don't pay an exchange fee to swap old yen for new design. Banks do this for free if you ask, or it just happens naturally through normal ATM use.

Related

• #85 The new 2024 yen banknotes — full guide
• #93 Counterfeit yen in 2026
• #14 Leftover yen strategy
• #100 Pocket Change review

Last verified 2026-05-18. Bank of Japan Act Article 46 has been in force since the Bank's founding and applies to every BOJ issue.