Stats: 140 million contactless cards in circulation in Japan

In a confirmation of Japan leading in smart card penetration, it was reported that 140 million contactless electronic payment cards are currently used in Japan. Edy brand accounts for 51.4 million cards, followed by 29.6 million of Suica, 10.9 million of Waon and 8.9 million of Nanaco. In Tokyo, about 80% of people own some kind of contactless payment card. Overall, it is being predicted that one trillion yen in transactions using e-money will be spent in fiscal 2009. By now, most of cell phones in Japan have a built-in e-money card by default.

Source: via Metropolis.co.jp