Ishigaki's Local Currency Moves to Mainnet: Can "Tourism x QR Payments x Tokens" Make the Economics Work?

The second pilot

On October 11, 2026, Arcoiris announced the second pilot of Yaeyama Token. It will run from November 1 to December 31, and the company is recruiting both merchants and monitor users. The company says Okinawa Prefecture is giving it full support through the Okinawa IT Innovation Strategy Center (ISCO).

The biggest change is the move from the development network (Devnet) used in the first pilot to the production network (Mainnet). Usability has also improved: users can now sign in with Google, LINE or Apple accounts and issue their own receipts. Native iPhone and Android apps are due during the pilot.

How it works, and what it costs

Customers pay by scanning a QR code displayed in the shop with their smartphone. The system includes stamp-card and loyalty-point features, and each shop decides whether to offer cashback. The merchant fee is 0.5%, waived for the duration of the pilot, and there are no setup or monthly fees.

According to the first pilot's announcement, YAE is a token issued on Solana and designed to be used at 1 YAE = JPY 1. At the end of the first pilot, the operator bought back all the YAE that merchants had received. The company emphasises that its fee is lower than credit cards (about 3–5%) and typical QR-code payments (about 1.5–3%).

First-pilot results and context

The first pilot began in June 2026 with five shops on Ishigaki. It grew to 27 merchants and 72 monitor users and ended on July 31. Transaction counts and payment volumes have not been disclosed.

Tourism to Yaeyama is growing. Okinawa Prefecture's statistics show 1,506,052 visitors to Yaeyama in 2025, a record for a calendar year. Of these, 296,722 arrived on international routes, up 31.9% year on year. How to handle payments from visitors, including international tourists, is a significant issue for the local economy.

What earlier cases suggest

Japan has earlier blockchain-based local currencies. Kintetsu Group's Shimakaze Coin was commercialised in Ise-Shima, but its period was limited to about six months because of the Payment Services Act. Hida Shinkumi Bank's Sarubobo Coin, run by a financial institution, had grown to about 1,920 merchants and about JPY 8 billion in cumulative payments by May 2023. A local currency's durability depends less on technology than on the credibility of its operator and the clarity of its legal status.

For YAE, the published materials do not make clear whether it is a prepaid payment instrument, a loyalty point or a crypto-asset. They also do not explain how users obtain and cash out YAE, or whether yen reserves are held. Before full operation, the project needs to settle its regulatory position and disclose its revenue model, including whether a 0.5% fee can cover operating costs.

Business Development Insights

1. Local currencies in tourist areas appeal to merchants because they lower fees, but whether a 0.5% fee covers operating costs is a separate question. Revenue beyond fees, such as customer referrals and advertising based on payment data, or links with tourism promotion, will determine sustainability.
2. Capturing growing numbers of international visitors requires an entry point that connects local currencies to overseas payment methods and stablecoins. Linking inbound payments with local currencies is a concrete area where municipalities, regional banks and payment companies should collaborate.
3. Settling a local currency's legal status at the outset is a precondition for municipal support and long-term operation. There is demand for services that support legal decisions at the design stage, such as filing as a prepaid payment instrument or limiting the design to loyalty points.

Sources

Arcoiris LLC, Yaeyama Token second pilot (PR TIMES, Oct 11, 2026) https://prtimes.jp/main/html/rd/p/000000005.000183067.html Arcoiris LLC, first pilot announcement (PR TIMES, May 14, 2026) https://prtimes.jp/main/html/rd/p/000000002.000183067.html ASCII (reprint of first pilot announcement) https://ascii.jp/elem/000/004/402/4402051/ Yaeyama Token official site https://yaeyama.asia/web/yaeyama_coin_lp3.php VOIX https://voix.jp/?p=139494 Okinawa Prefecture, 2025 visitor statistics https://www.pref.okinawa.jp/_res/projects/default_project/_page_/001/011/861/2025nennkann.pdf Payment Navi (Shimakaze Coin) https://paymentnavi.com/paymentnews/91429.html Business+IT (Sarubobo Coin) https://www.sbbit.jp/article/refers/114652