In early 1942, the Yokohama Specie Bank was authorised by the Japanese government to issue series 1 of the Japanese currency for Malaya. Only one, five and ten dollar notes were issued under this series. The notes were marked with the block letters MA or MB followed by a six-digit serial number. The front of the notes in this series bore the phrase "Promises To Pay The Bearer On Demand" while Kanji characters, centered at the bottom of the note, state: "Great Japanese Imperial Government".
