AZ-COM Maruwa to pay 2,300 logistics partners in yen stablecoin JPYC

Tokyo-listed logistics firm AZ-COM Maruwa Holdings, which operates delivery services for Amazon Japan, has announced plans to settle fees and other payments to approximately 2,300 business partners, including subcontractors and independent truck drivers, using the regulated yen stablecoin JPYC. The company reported 230.5 billion yen (roughly 1.4 billion US dollars) in revenue for the fiscal year ended March and has maintained a relationship with Amazon Japan since 2017.

JPYC, issued by Tokyo-based fintech firm JPYC Inc., launched in October last year under Japan’s Payment Services Act and carries a strict 1:1 peg to the yen, backed entirely by bank deposits and Japanese government bonds. Its on-chain circulation surpassed 2 billion yen as of last week. AZ-COM Maruwa’s decision represents what Nikkei Asia describes as the first large-scale corporate deployment of a stablecoin in day-to-day operations in Japan, moving the instrument well beyond retail or pilot contexts into high-volume B2B settlement.

The company’s stated rationale centres on Japan’s structural labour pressures: shortages, an ageing workforce, and tighter overtime regulations have made attracting and retaining independent drivers more difficult. Near-instant, fee-free conversion to yen via the stablecoin is positioned as a means of making subcontractor arrangements more financially attractive. Separately, AZ-COM Maruwa is reported to be considering a formal business partnership with JPYC Inc. and a 1 billion yen investment in the token.

The announcement arrives within days of news that convenience store operator Lawson will pilot JPYC payments at its Takanawa Gateway City store in Tokyo from early August, suggesting that regulated stablecoin adoption in Japan is compressing from consumer-facing experiments and large-scale corporate payments simultaneously rather than sequentially.