With a push of a button the first-ever 2,000 yen bill was christened with the serial number "A000001A" on Monday, kicking off printing of the new bank note.
In a ceremony at the Finance Ministry's Takinogawa factory in Tokyo's Kita Ward, Yoshinori Ono, parliamentary vice minister, turned on the numbering machine, which spat out sheets of 20 bills that had been printed earlier in the day -- four columns horizontally and five rows vertically.
Numbering is the final step in the printing process, after the designs are printed and before the sheets are cut.
The ministry's three other printing factories, in Kanagawa, Shizuoka and Shiga prefectures, will also print the 2,000 yen bill, an official said.
After an initial print run of 100 million, the Bank of Japan will start circulating the bills nationwide on July 19, two days before the Group of Eight leaders begin their summit in Okinawa.
The 2,000 yen bill is intended to mark the year 2000 and the summit.