(NPB) is a Japanese governmental agency in charge of the production of Japanese

paper money A banknote—also called a bill (North American English), paper money, or simply a note—is a type of negotiable promissory note, made by a bank or other licensed authority, payable to the bearer on demand. Banknotes were originally issued ...

Japanese yen The is the official currency of Japan. It is the third-most traded currency in the foreign exchange market, after the United States dollar (US$) and the euro. It is also widely used as a third reserve currency after the US dollar and the ...

. It also produces various other products, such as

postage stamp A postage stamp is a small piece of paper issued by a post office, postal administration, or other authorized vendors to customers who pay postage (the cost involved in moving, insuring, or registering mail), who then affix the stamp to the fa ...

s and the official governmental gazette.

History

The Paper Money Office was created on July 27, 1871 under the administration of the

Ministry of Finance A ministry of finance is a part of the government in most countries that is responsible for matters related to the finance. Lists of current ministries of finance Named "Ministry" * Ministry of Finance (Afghanistan) * Ministry of Finance and Eco ...

, and was soon renamed in August the Paper Money Bureau. At the time, banknote printing was outsourced to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

and

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

, as

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

did not have the required facilities for domestic production. The bureau managed the

private Private or privates may refer to: Music * " In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorde ...

national bank In banking, the term national bank carries several meanings: * a bank owned by the state * an ordinary private bank which operates nationally (as opposed to regionally or locally or even internationally) * in the United States, an ordinary p ...

s and managed the issue and exchange of banknotes. In January 1872, production of paper money was handed over to the Paper Money Bureau, and it acquired papermaking and printing duties. These included the production of banknotes,

securities A security is a tradable financial asset. The term commonly refers to any form of financial instrument, but its legal definition varies by jurisdiction. In some countries and languages people commonly use the term "security" to refer to any for ...

, postage stamps, and

typographic Typography is the art and technique of typesetting, arranging type to make written language legibility, legible, readability, readable and beauty, appealing when displayed. The arrangement of type involves selecting typefaces, Point (typogra ...

printing Printing is a process for mass reproducing text and images using a master form or template. The earliest non-paper products involving printing include cylinder seals and objects such as the Cyrus Cylinder and the Cylinders of Nabonidus. The ea ...

. The first domestically produced Japanese money, a 1-yen banknote, was created on October 15, 1877. The Paper Money Bureau was merged with the Official Gazette Bureau on January 1, 1898, and thus acquired the duty of printing the Official Gazette, starting July 2, 1898. The Bureau became an incorporated administrative agency (

Independent Administrative Institution An Incorporated Administrative Agency (独立行政法人, ''Dokuritsu gyōsei hōjin'' or ''Dokugyo'' in abbreviation) is a type of legal corporation formulated by the Government of Japan under the Act on General Rules for Incorporated Administrat ...

) in April 2003.

Organization

The NPB includes a Head Office, Research Institute, Government Publications Service Center, and several production plants.

Head office

The head office includes strategic planning, evaluation and auditing, security products, information products, research and development, general affairs, human resources, and finance and accounting departments.

Plants

Cherry Blossoms 1 at National Printing Bureau's Odawara Plant

Cherry Blossoms 2 at National Printing Bureau's Odawara Plant

The NPB has several production plants.

Toranomon is a business district of Minato, Tokyo. History Literally meaning "Tiger's Gate," Toranomon was the name of the southernmost gate of Edo Castle. The gate existed until the 1870s when it was demolished to make way for modern developments. ...

is responsible for publishing the Official Gazette and other government publications. At Takinogawa banknotes, public bonds, and certificate stamps are made, and at Oji postage stamps are printed. Plants at

Odawara is a city in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 188,482 and a population density of 1,700 persons per km2. The total area of the city is . Geography Odawara lies in the Ashigara Plains, in the far western por ...

Shizuoka Shizuoka can refer to: * Shizuoka Prefecture, a Japanese prefecture * Shizuoka (city), the capital city of Shizuoka Prefecture * Shizuoka Airport * Shizuoka Domain, the name from 1868 to 1871 for Sunpu Domain, a predecessor of Shizuoka Prefecture ...

, and

Hikone 280px, Hikone City Hall is a city located in Shiga Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 111,958 in 49066 households and a population density of 570 persons per km². The total area of the city is . Geography Hikone i ...

also produce banknotes, while Odawara makes paper as well, along with

Okayama is the capital city of Okayama Prefecture in the Chūgoku region of Japan. The city was founded on June 1, 1889. , the city has an estimated population of 720,841 and a population density of 910 persons per km2. The total area is . The city is ...

. The Odawara Plant, where about 500 '' Someiyoshino'' and other cherry trees are planted, holds on an weekend in early April, every year, an open house to let the general public enjoy viewing cherry blossoms.

Environmental activities

The Bureau's environmental philosophy is "Conduct business activities in harmony with the environment." It is attempting to acquire ISO 14001 certification. Five of its plants have already done so: Takinogawa in 2002, Odawara in 2004, Hikone in 2006, Okayama in 2007, and Shizuoka in 2009. The Bureau prepares and publishes an environmental report on its website yearly. Five areas of focus are: *

Environmental A biophysical environment is a biotic and abiotic surrounding of an organism or population, and consequently includes the factors that have an influence in their survival, development, and evolution. A biophysical environment can vary in scale f ...

Compliance: Compliance with

environmental law Environmental law is a collective term encompassing aspects of the law that provide protection to the environment. A related but distinct set of regulatory regimes, now strongly influenced by environmental legal principles, focus on the manage ...

s and regulations *Resource and

Energy Saving Energy conservation is the effort to reduce wasteful energy consumption by using fewer energy services. This can be done by using energy more effectively (using less energy for continuous service) or changing one's behavior to use less service (f ...

: Reduction in the usage of resources and energy, and in waste production *

Product Design Product design as a verb is to create a new product to be sold by a business to its customers. A very broad coefficient and effective generation and development of ideas through a process that leads to new products. Thus, it is a major aspect of n ...

and Production with Low Environmental Load: Engineering products for minimal environmental impact in all phases of the product

lifecycle Life cycle, life-cycle, or lifecycle may refer to: Science and academia * Biological life cycle, the sequence of life stages that an organism undergoes from birth to reproduction ending with the production of the offspring *Life-cycle hypothesis ...

*Green

Procurement Procurement is the method of discovering and agreeing to terms and purchasing goods, Service (economics), services, or other works from an external source, often with the use of a tendering or competitive bidding process. When a government agenc ...

*Environmental Conservation Enlightenment: Promotion of awareness through employee

education Education is a purposeful activity directed at achieving certain aims, such as transmitting knowledge or fostering skills and character traits. These aims may include the development of understanding, rationality, kindness, and honesty. Va ...

programs

References

{{Coord, 35.6688, N, 139.7451, E, source:wikidata, display=title Japanese yen

Printing Printing is a process for mass reproducing text and images using a master form or template. The earliest non-paper products involving printing include cylinder seals and objects such as the Cyrus Cylinder and the Cylinders of Nabonidus. The ea ...

Printing Banknote printing companies