Japanese logistics firm turns to JPYC stablecoin to fight labor shortages: report

AZ-COM Maruwa Holdings, a major logistics services company in Japan, will adopt the JPYC stablecoin for payments to business partners.

According to a report from Nikkei Asia, AZ-COM Maruwa plans to use the stablecoin to pay fees and salaries to roughly 2,300 business partners and individual contractors, including truck drivers.

The report said this will be the first large-scale corporate use of JPYC, which is the first yen-pegged stablecoin officially registered in Japan. AZ-COM Maruwa is also reportedly considering a partnership with JPYC Inc. that would be accompanied by a 1 billion yen ($6.16 million) investment.

By offering faster payments through JPYC, AZ-COM Maruwa aims to attract more business partners and tackle the labor shortage issue, which stems from an aging workforce and stricter overtime regulations for drivers, Nikkei reported.

Growing adoption

Since its launch last October, JPYC has expanded its local market presence by growing its partnerships. JPYC recently announced that its onchain circulation has surpassed 2 billion yen ($12.3 million).

Earlier this month, Nikkei reported that Lawson, Japan's third-largest convenience store chain, is launching a pilot to allow customers to pay with JPYC. Metaplanet Ventures, the investment subsidiary of the bitcoin treasury company, deployed 400 million yen ($2.46 million) into JPYC Inc.'s Series B financing round in March. 

Japan's traditional institutions have also joined the stablecoin race, with SBI Group launching JPYSC in June as the country's first trust bank-backed yen stablecoin. Three local megabanks — MUFG, SMBC, and Mizuho — also announced plans last month to begin live commercial transactions of a jointly issued stablecoin during fiscal year 2026.