Japan will mint special coins to mark the 2005 World Exposition in Aichi Prefecture and the opening of Chubu international airport next year, the Finance Ministry said Friday.
The ministry plans to issue 70,000 gold coins with a face value of 10,000 yen and the same number of silver coins with a face value of 1,000 yen for the exposition, which will open March 25 and run for six months.
The 10,000 yen and 1,000 yen coins are due to go on sale in December, the ministry said.
The ministry will also mint 500 yen coins made of nickel brass probably in February, with the number yet to be decided.
Separately, the ministry will mint 50,000 500 yen coins made of silver to commemorate the Feb. 17 inauguration of Chubu airport, which is under construction on a man-made island near Nagoya and is formally dubbed Central Japan International Airport.
The prices of all these coins will be higher than their face values because per-coin manufacturing costs will exceed their face values, according to the ministry.
