The Japanese currency is the yen (which is actually pronounced en in
Japanese). There are six coins – 1, 5, 10, 50, 100 and 500 yen – and
four notes – 1,000, 2,000, 5,000 and 10,000 yen. The 5 and 50 yen
coins have a small hole in the middle of them. Each note features a
different portrait of a famous Japanese person, including a
philosopher, a novelist, a poet and a bacteriologist.
To prevent forgery, Japanese notes use different types of technology
such as watermarks, micro-letters and special luminous ink. A
hologram is used on 5,000 and 10,000 yen notes – cherry blossoms
appear in the bottom left corner of the portrait side of the notes when
they are turned at an angle.