TOKYO (Reuters] – While negative interest rates are often discussed within academic circles, the Bank of Japan will not create a digital yen to help achieve them, a top central bank official stated Wednesday.

Shinichi Uchida, Executive Director of BOJ, stated in speech that future experiments with issuing central bank digital currencies (CBDC) will examine features like limiting transactions and holdings.

Although the BOJ is yet to decide whether or not to issue a digital currency, it has begun a second phase of testing from April in preparation for an eventual launch.