1000 Yen - Heisei Asian Winter Games

The 6th Asian Winter Games were held in Aomori in February 2003 — the first time Japan hosted the event. The commemorative program produced for the occasion was issued under the standard Japanese silver commemorative framework that had been running since the 1964 Olympics, with the Japan Mint handling distribution through a sealed capsule and certificate format that kept most examples from ever touching a pocket.

Mintage for this type was capped by pre-order demand rather than a fixed production ceiling, a practice the Japan Mint had adopted by the early 2000s to avoid the secondary-market gluts that plagued earlier commemorative runs.