Japan Sees Boost in Stablecoin Payments as Lawson Trials and Netstars Launch

Japanese convenience store operator Lawson is set to test yen-denominated stablecoin payments at one of its Tokyo locations in August. The trial, conducted in partnership with blockchain company HashPort and telecom group KDDI, will assess how stablecoin payments can be integrated into Japan's existing retail infrastructure.

The pilot aims to examine integration requirements, checkout operations, payment processing times, and wallet usability before considering broader applications. Participants will use HashPort's non-custodial wallet, while the store will process payments through the company's point-of-sale system without needing to open or manage crypto wallets.

Separately, Japanese payments company Netstars has launched Stablecoin Pay, a multi-stablecoin merchant service that allows merchants to accept multiple stablecoins as payment options. The service currently supports USDC, USDT, and JPYC through the Solana and Polygon networks, with MetaMask as the supported wallet.

Netstars has set the merchant payment fee at 0.98% and plans to add more wallets and blockchains in the future. Merchants can use existing payment terminals in most cases and handle product pricing, sales records, and settlement in yen, even when customers pay with dollar-denominated stablecoins.