A sample of an old 10,000-yen banknote is seen in Tokyo's Chiyoda Ward on Aug. 30, 2021. (Mainichi/Kotaro Adachi)

       TOKYO -- About 50 counterfeit antique 10,000-yen (about $90) banknotes were found in Tokyo between around Aug. 21 and 26, the Mainichi Shimbun has learned from the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).

       The bills feature a portrait of the 6th-7th century Japanese prince Shotoku Taishi, a design that was discontinued in 1986. The notes had some common features including their serial numbers, which all began with "PS" -- not actually used in Japanese banknote serial numbers -- and ended with "N." They were forged to a high degree of detail, including watermarks. The MPD's second investigation division is looking into the cases on suspicion of using forged currency.

       According to police, the notes had been used at a total of some 40 convenience stores and drugstores in the capital's Toshima, Nakano, Shinjuku, Shibuya and Sumida wards. All the stores were in central neighborhoods in front of busy train stations. As the fake bills were used to buy items such as snacks for a few hundreds of yen during evenings and nights in all cases, the culprit or culprits apparently were seeking to convert the bills into real money by getting change.

       (Japanese original by Kotaro Adachi, Tokyo City News Department)

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