Century-old vault to be opened to Japan's public

The central bank used the large vault up until the end of June. The vault, located in the basement of the bank's old wing directly under the wing's symbolic green dome, was installed in 1896 when the wing opened.

Since July the central bank has been using another large vault, the location of which the bank kept secret for security reasons.

The vault has a surface area of about 1,400 square meters and has a 90-centimeters-thick iron door. Piled up inside the inner room, which is protected by a barred door, is 140 billion yen worth of replica yen notes and 21 fake ingots of gold for visitors to examine.