Asahi: BOJ branch flushes cash down the toilet
With the nation's economy said to be heading down the toilet, why not its currency, too? Under a recycling initiative of the Oita branch of the Bank of Japan (BOJ), a paper products maker here is turning old bank notes into toilet paper...The Oita BOJ branch annually receives about 20 million tattered bank notes, weighing in at about 20 tons, that have been removed from circulation by financial institutions. The life span of 1,000-yen notes is usually one to two years, while 5,000-yen and 10,000-yen notes circulate for two to three years.