Japan’s push toward regulated stablecoin payments is moving into physical retail, with HashPort, KDDI, and Lawson partnering to test Japanese yen stablecoin transactions at a Lawson convenience store next month.
HashPort announced that it signed a basic agreement with telecommunications giant KDDI and convenience store giant Lawson to conduct a technical demonstration of in-store stablecoin payments. The pilot will take place in August 2026 at the Lawson Takanawa Gateway City store in Tokyo.
Inside the retail payment pilot
The demonstration will allow selected participants from the three companies to make purchases using Japanese yen stablecoins through HashPort Wallet, the company’s non-custodial digital asset wallet.
On the merchant side, payments will be handled through HashPort Wallet for Biz, allowing stores to accept stablecoin payments using their existing point-of-sale (POS) systems without needing to create or manage blockchain wallets.
According to HashPort, the pilot will evaluate several technical aspects, including POS system integration, checkout operations, transaction processing times, and wallet usability. HashPort also said the proof-of-concept combines Lawson’s retail and POS expertise, KDDI’s experience integrating financial and payment infrastructure, and code payment technology from Canal Payment Service alongside HashPort’s stablecoin payment platform.
If successful, the pilot could provide a blueprint for broader stablecoin acceptance across Japan’s retail sector. HashPort also said it plans to integrate Aggent Payment into HashPort Wallet for Biz in the future to automate remittances, payments and settlement operations for businesses and merchants.
A broadening macro trend
The retail convergence of stablecoin rails within a single trading session signals a major structural shift. Historically, digital assets in Japan functioned purely as speculative investment vehicles. However, following the clear regulatory guardrails laid out by the revised 2023 Payment Services Act, consumer-facing enterprises have found the regulatory certainty required to transition stablecoins into standard commercial utility.
With HashPort’s user-facing software already exceeding 1.15 million cumulative downloads, the upcoming Lawson demonstration establishes a vital precedent. As global networks look to lower transaction barriers, mirrored by similar retail pushes like the UAE’s AE Coin fuel-network deployment, Japan’s systematic integration of regulated digital yen into dominant brick-and-mortar storefronts provides a model for un-siloed blockchain commerce.
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