CASE FILES

Sources for Figures and Data

Deposit Freeze and New Yen Switchover 1946

Freezing of Deposits and Switch to the New Yen (1946) / 1946 / Japan / Chaos in the Monetary System

Sources for Figures and Data

This is a list of where the figures in the diagrams and text come from. Click a heading to open it.

Read moreNumerical Ledger (11 items)

61.45164 billionyenAmount of Bank of Japan notes issued (just before the Financial Emergency Measures)1946-02-16・Balance. Finance Minister Ishibashi explained it was just over 61.4 billion yen on the day of promulgation.Centennial History of the Bank of Japan, Vol. 5 p.42・Table 1-12 (61,451 million yen)

61.8 billionyenPeak amount of Bank of Japan notes issued1946-02-18・BalanceCentennial History of the Bank of Japan, Vol. 5 p.44・Table 1-12 (61,824 million yen)

15.2 billion yen (24.6% of peak)yenLowest amount of Bank of Japan notes issued1946-03-12・Denominator: amount issued on Feb 18・BalanceCentennial History of the Bank of Japan, Vol. 5 p.44・Table 1-12 (15,204 million yen)

50.30409 billion yen (collection rate 81.9%)yenAmount of old banknotes collected1946-02-18 to 03-08・Denominator: amount issued on Feb 16, 61.45164 billion yen・CumulativeCentennial History of the Bank of Japan, Vol. 5 p.42・Table 1-10

300 yen for head of household, 100 yen per household memberyen/monthWithdrawal limit for living expenses1946-02-17 to 03-31・Ordinance. From April 1, 100 yen for head of household (Centennial History, p.47)Official Gazette 1946 Regulations for Enforcement of the Financial Emergency Measures Ordinance, Article 5, Paragraph 1

500 yenyen/month per personUpper limit for salary withdrawal calculationFrom 1946-02-17, Ordinance. Does not include classified income tax amount.Official Gazette 1946 Enforcement Regulations for the Financial Emergency Measures Ordinance, Article 5, Section 3

100 yen per personyenUpper limit for exchange for new notes1946-02-25 to 03-07, Ordinance. For financial institutions, until March 9 (Hyakunenshi p.40)Official Gazette 1946 Enforcement Regulations for the Bank of Japan Notes Deposit Ordinance, Articles 5 and 7

End of March: 23.3 billion yen, End of June: 42.8 billion yen, End of December: 93.4 billion yenyenAmount of Bank of Japan notes issued (subsequently)1946, Outstanding balanceA Hundred-Year History of the Bank of Japan, Vol. 5 p.47

3.360 → 8.676 → 22.49 → 187.2IndexWholesale Price Index (Overall Average)1945-08, 1946-02, 1946-12, 1948-12. Denominator: Average of Shōwa 9-11 (1934-36) = 1. Nominal.Shōwa Financial History, Vol. 19 Statistics 12.(2) Overall Average

15.4 billion yenyenAmount of withdrawals from blocked deposits in new yenApril-June 1946, Total for the period (excluding major financial institutions and municipal agricultural associations). July-September was 17.9 billion yen.A Hundred-Year History of the Bank of Japan, Vol. 5 p.50

Over 100,000 yen: 25% to Over 15 million yen: 90%%Property tax rates1946-11-12 (Act No. 52). Denominator: Taxable value. Ordinance. Survey date is March 3, 1946, 0:00 AM (Article 1).Nagoya University Legal Database 1946 Articles 22 and 23

Read moreSource of the figures in the chart

Figure	What the figure represents	Value	Date/Period	Source and location
Figure 1	Figure without numbers	—	—	—
Figure 2	Amount of Bank of Japan Notes Issued (1946)	614.5	1946-02-16	A Hundred-Year History of the Bank of Japan, Vol. 5 Table 1-12, p.47
Figure 2	Amount of Bank of Japan Notes Issued (1946)	618.2	1946-02-18	A Hundred-Year History of the Bank of Japan, Vol. 5 Table 1-12, p.47
Figure 2	Amount of Bank of Japan Notes Issued (1946)	586.8	1946-02-25	A Hundred-Year History of the Bank of Japan, Vol. 5 Table 1-12, p.47
Figure 2	Amount of Bank of Japan Notes Issued (1946)	497.7	1946-03-02	A Hundred-Year History of the Bank of Japan, Vol. 5 Table 1-12, p.47
Figure 2	Amount of Bank of Japan Notes Issued (1946)	319.1	1946-03-06	A Hundred-Year History of the Bank of Japan, Vol. 5 Table 1-12, p.47
Figure 2	Amount of Bank of Japan Notes Issued (1946)	161.7	1946-03-09	A Hundred-Year History of the Bank of Japan, Vol. 5 Table 1-12, p.47
Figure 2	Amount of Bank of Japan Notes Issued (1946)	152.0	1946-03-12	A Hundred-Year History of the Bank of Japan, Vol. 5 Table 1-12, p.47
Figure 2	Amount of Bank of Japan Notes Issued (1946)	197.6	1946-03-25	A Hundred-Year History of the Bank of Japan, Vol. 5 Table 1-12, p.47
Figure 2	Amount of Bank of Japan Notes Issued (1946)	233.0	1946-03-31	A Hundred-Year History of the Bank of Japan, Vol. 5 Table 1-12, p.47
Figure 2	Amount of Bank of Japan Notes Issued (1946)	428.0	1946-06-30	A Hundred-Year History of the Bank of Japan, Vol. 5 Table 1-12, p.47
Figure 2	Amount of Bank of Japan Notes Issued (1946)	934.0	1946-12-31	A Hundred-Year History of the Bank of Japan, Vol. 5 Table 1-12, p.47
Figure 3	Announcement of Emergency Measures for the Economic Crisis	—	1946-02-16	One Hundred Year History of the Bank of Japan, Vol. 5
Figure 3	Promulgation and enforcement of the Emergency Financial Measures Ordinance and the Bank of Japan Note Deposit Ordinance	—	1946-02-17	Nagoya University Legal Database 1946
Figure 3	Implementation of the deposit freeze	—	1946-02-18	One Hundred Year History of the Bank of Japan, Vol. 5
Figure 3	Deposits of old banknotes and payments in new banknotes begin	—	1946-02-25	One Hundred Year History of the Bank of Japan, Vol. 5
Figure 3	Last day old banknotes are legal tender	—	1946-03-02	One Hundred Year History of the Bank of Japan, Vol. 5
Figure 3	Time of the property survey (0:00 a.m.)	—	1946-03-03	Nagoya University Legal Database 1946
Figure 3	Deadline for deposits	—	1946-03-07	Official Gazette 1946
Figure 3	The amount of banknotes issued bottoms out at 15.2 billion yen	—	1946-03-12	One Hundred Year History of the Bank of Japan, Vol. 5
Figure 3	Living expenses for the head of household reduced from 300 yen to 100 yen per month	—	1946-04-01	One Hundred Year History of the Bank of Japan, Vol. 5
Figure 3	Deliberation for ex-post facto approval in the House of Representatives. "The 500-yen livelihood problem."	—	1946-07-02	Minutes of the Imperial Diet 1946
Figure 3	Promulgation of the Property Tax Act	—	1946-11-12	Nagoya University Legal Database 1946
Figure 4	Banknotes increased from just over 30.2 billion yen to just over 61.4 billion yen. Wholesale prices rose more than 2.5 times.	—	August 1945–February 1946	—
Figure 4	Banknotes reached 93.4 billion yen, and the wholesale price index was 187.2 in December 1948.	—	From December 1946	—

Official Documents

Institutional Accounts

The timing of the property survey and the conversion of assets into goods before it

Representative Kinji Kawashima (Socialist Party)

Although the plan for the property tax was announced at the beginning of the year, the survey ordinance was not issued until March, during which time influential landowners and capitalists actively converted their assets into goods.

Proceedings of the Imperial Diet, 1946

Minister of Finance Tanzan Ishibashi

Due to the delay in convening the Diet, the previous cabinet had no choice but to issue an imperial ordinance on February 17 and conduct a sudden property survey.

Proceedings of the Imperial Diet, 1946

Were the measures effective?

Minister of Finance Tanzan Ishibashi (July 1946)

Whether it achieved the effect intended by the government at the time is another question, but it was a measure that had to be taken in that situation. If deposits had been withdrawn en masse, the banks would have collapsed.

Proceedings of the Imperial Diet, 1946

One Hundred Year History of the Bank of Japan

It contributed to averting the crisis of economic collapse, but its effects were temporary. It instilled a deep-seated sense of distrust and anxiety in the public.

One Hundred Year History of the Bank of Japan, Vol. 5