A group of lawmakers from the ruling Liberal Democratic Party want Japan to issue its own coin, in partnership with private firms. (Reuters)

Talking point: On Tuesday, Japan’s central bank joined six others—including the Bank of Canada—to form a group studying the potential of issuing digital currencies. Japan is moving quite a bit faster than other members of the new group. (Canada, for example, has been studying digital currencies since at least 2013.) However, Japan faces unique threats. China is the farthest along of any country in developing a digital coin; it could challenge the U.S. dollar as a means of international settlement, something Japanese Finance Minister Taro Aso said earlier this month would be a “very serious problem.” Japan has been one of the countries speaking out most forcefully on Libra, and has been calling for global cooperation in regulating Facebook’s coin for several months. Today’s move comes as Libra is also losing private-sector support. Earlier this week, the British telecom Vodafone left the Libra Association, the eighth firm to do so.