Sunday, April 7, 2013

fun facts about the yen

The fate of Japanese economy if often tied to the strength or the weakness of the yen. The yen reached a record high of against the dollar in April 1995 when it reached 79 yen to the dollar. In July 1998 it reached a record low of 142 to the dollar.


back of new 1,000 yen banknote

When the value of yen is high (around 75 to 95 yen per dollar), Japanese goods become more expensive overseas and less people buy them, and foreign goods become cheaper in Japan and people buy these goods instead of Japanese products. These forces bring the trade surplus down and cause the value of the yen to decrease.

When the value of yen is low (around 105 to 140 yen per dollar), Japanese goods become cheaper overseas and more people buy them. Also, foreign goods become more expensive in Japan and more people buy Japanese goods instead of foreign products. These forces increase the trade surplus and cause the value of the yen to rise.

In the mid 1970s when the dollar was worth 240 yen, American tourists could travel cheaply in Japan and Japanese products were cheap. In the late 1980s and early 1990s when the dollar was worth 80 yen, the cost of living for Americans in Japan was almost catastrophically high but American companies were able to make inroads in the Japanese economy because American products were cheap in Japan.

A strengthening of the yen affects not only trade with the United States it also affects trade with other countries because many of these transactions are done in dollars. Japan's trade surplus with the rest of the world creates a demand for yen, needed to purchase goods in Japan, which cause the value of he currency to rise.

Eisuke Sakakibara, a deputy finance minister, became known as Mr. Yen because his bold pronouncements were enough to cause major movements in the currency markets. He took his position in 1995 and immediately set about making statements and taking action to lower the value of the yen and help Japan's economy.
 http://factsanddetails.com/japan.php?itemid=1797&catid=24&subcatid=154

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