A consortium of Japanese companies said Wednesday it is planning to issue a cryptocurrency later this year to promote the nation's pop culture.

Using the "otaku coin," to be issued as early as this summer, the group aims to help finance the project of producing animation or video games that win support in voting by fans, often called otaku or geeks.

Upon the issuance of the otaku coin, a predetermined number of coins will be gifted to a selected number of fans around the world, the Otaku Coin Preparation Committee said, adding it is not planning an initial coin offering, a capital-raising platform for cryptocurrencies.

Otaku coin holders will be able to use the coins to purchase items on e-commerce sites of partners such as Tokyo Otaku Mode Inc., also a member of the preparation committee.

The group is also hoping the otaku coin will be traded at virtual currency exchanges and also be exchanged with the yen and other conventional currencies in the future.

"We'd like to further enhance the popularity of Japanese content industries by efficiently using blockchain technology," Naomitsu Kodaka, chief executive officer of Tokyo Otaku Mode, said in reference to an online ledger of virtual currency transactions.