The demand for cash payments is thought to be related to people's perception of cash: less concern about wasting money than when using cashless payment instruments; a safe environment where cash is rarely stolen and is even often returned when people lose their pocketbooks or purses; and public confidence in the high anti-counterfeit security levels of Japanese banknotes, resulting in counterfeit banknotes having a very low circulation.
The prolonged low interest rate environment may also have pushed up the demand for cash. As for the supply of cash payments, cash payment networks supported by financial institutions' bricks and mortar branches and ATMs are important (Figure 4). The denser the  3  networks, the more convenient cash withdrawal from the bank account and cash deposit to the account.