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Japanese yen

The yen (Japanese: , symbol: ¥; code: JPY) is the official currency of Japan. It is the third-most traded currency in the foreign exchange market, after the United States dollar (US$) and the euro.[2] It is also widely used as a third reserve currency after the US dollar and the euro.

Japanese yen
日本円 (Japanese)
2000 yen note printed ShureimonThe 6 types of coins of the Japanese yen
ISO 4217
CodeJPY (numeric: 392)
Unit
Unityen
PluralThe language(s) of this currency do(es) not have a morphological plural distinction.
Symbol¥
Denominations
Banknotes
 Freq. used¥1,000, ¥5,000, ¥10,000
 Rarely used¥2,000
Coins
 Freq. used¥1, ¥5, ¥10, ¥50, ¥100, ¥500
Demographics
User(s)Japan
Issuance
Central bankBank of Japan
 Websiteboj.or.jp
PrinterNational Printing Bureau
 Websitenpb.go.jp
MintJapan Mint
 Websitemint.go.jp
Valuation
Inflation2.8% (November 2023)
 SourceStatistics Bureau of Japan[1]
USD/JPY exchange rate 1971–2023

The New Currency Act of 1871 introduced Japan's modern currency system, with the yen defined as 1.5 g (0.048 troy ounces) of gold, or 24.26 g (0.780 troy ounces) of silver, and divided decimally into 100 sen or 1,000 rin. The yen replaced the previous Tokugawa coinage as well as the various hansatsu paper currencies issued by feudal han (fiefs). The Bank of Japan was founded in 1882 and given a monopoly on controlling the money supply.[3]

Following World War II, the yen lost much of its prewar value. To stabilize the Japanese economy, the exchange rate of the yen was fixed at ¥360 per US$ as part of the Bretton Woods system. When that system was abandoned in 1971, the yen became undervalued and was allowed to float. The yen had appreciated to a peak of ¥271 per US$ in 1973, then underwent periods of depreciation and appreciation due to the 1973 oil crisis, arriving at a value of ¥227 per US$ by 1980.

Since 1973, the Japanese government has maintained a policy of currency intervention, so the yen is under a "dirty float" regime. The Japanese government focused on a competitive export market, and tried to ensure a low exchange rate for the yen through a trade surplus. The Plaza Accord of 1985 temporarily changed this situation; the exchange rate fell from its average of ¥239 per dollar in 1985 to ¥128 in 1988 and led to a peak rate of ¥80 against the US$ in 1995, effectively increasing the value of Japan's GDP in dollar terms to almost that of the United States.[4] Since that time, however, the world price of the yen has greatly decreased. The Bank of Japan maintains a policy of zero to near-zero interest rates and the Japanese government has previously had a strict anti-inflation policy.[5]

From late 2021 to late 2023, the yen depreciated against the dollar by about 40%, giving rise to serious concern in Japan about long-term prospects for the currency.[6][7][8]

Pronunciation and etymology edit

The name, "Yen", derives from the Japanese word (en, [eɴ]; "round"), which borrows its phonetic reading from Chinese yuan, similar to North Korean won and South Korean won. Originally, the Chinese had traded silver in mass called sycees, and when Spanish and Mexican silver coins arrived from the Philippines, the Chinese called them "silver rounds" (Chinese: 銀圓; pinyin: yínyuán) for their circular shapes.[9] The coins and the name also appeared in Japan. While the Chinese eventually replaced ; with ,[a] the Japanese continued to use the same word, which was given the shinjitai form in reforms at the end of World War II.

The spelling and pronunciation "yen" is standard in English, because when Japan was first encountered by Europeans around the 16th century, Japanese /e/ () and /we/ () both had been pronounced [je] and Portuguese missionaries had spelled them "ye".[b] By the middle of the 18th century, /e/ and /we/ came to be pronounced [e] as in modern Japanese, although some regions retain the [je] pronunciation. Walter Henry Medhurst, who had neither been to Japan nor met any Japanese people, having consulted mainly a Japanese-Dutch dictionary, spelled some "e"s as "ye" in his An English and Japanese, and Japanese and English Vocabulary (1830).[11] In the early Meiji era, James Curtis Hepburn, following Medhurst, spelled all "e"s as "ye" in his A Japanese and English dictionary (1867); in Japanese, e and i are slightly palatalized, somewhat as in Russian.[12] That was the first full-scale Japanese-English/English-Japanese dictionary, which had a strong influence on Westerners in Japan and probably prompted the spelling "yen". Hepburn revised most "ye"s to "e" in the 3rd edition (1886)[13] to mirror the contemporary pronunciation, except "yen".[14]

Coins and banknotes edit

Coins edit

The obverse side of all coins shows the coin's value in kanji as well as the country name (through 1945, Dai Nippon (大日本, "Great Japan"); after 1945, Nippon-koku (日本国, "State of Japan") (except for the current 5-yen coin with the country name on the reverse). The reverse side of all coins shows the year of mintage, which is not shown in Gregorian calendar years, but instead in the regnal year of the current emperor's reign. Royal portraits have never appeared on Japanese coins, as the image of the emperor remains sacred.[15]

Rin edit

 
One rin coin from 1873 (year 6 of Meiji)

Bronze coins worth one-one thousandth of a yen called "Rin" were first introduced in 1873. One rin coins were very small measuring 15.75 mm in diameter, and co-circulated with mon coins of the old currency system. Their small size eventually was their undoing as the rin was abandoned in 1884 due to unpopularity. Five rin coins worth one-two hundredth of a yen also used a bronze alloy. These were successor coins to the equally valued half sen coin which had been previously minted until 1888. The decision to bring back an equally valued coin was in response to rising inflation caused by World War I which led to an overall shortage of subsidiary coins. The mintage period for five rin coins was brief as they were discontinued after only four years of production due to their sharp decline in monetary value. The overall demand for subsidiary coinage ended as Japan slipped into a post-war recession. Coins worth 1 and 5 rin were eventually officially taken out of circulation at the end of 1953 and demonetized.

Sen edit

 
50 sen coin from 1870 (year 3 of Meiji)

Subsidiary coins of "sen" were initially introduced in 1870 with a silver alloy in denominations of 5, 10, 20 and 50 sen. Copper sen coins in denominations of half, 1, and 2 came three years later, as Japan acquired the technology needed to mint them. The removal of silver from sen coinage began in 1889, when Cupronickel 5 sen coins were introduced. By 1920, this included cupro-nickel 10 sen and reduced-size silver 50 sen coins. Production of latter ceased in 1938, after which a variety of base metals were used to produce 1, 5 and 10 sen coins during the Second World War. While clay 5 and 10 sen coins were produced in 1945, they were not issued for circulation. As with the Rin, coins in denominations of less than 1 yen became invalid at the end of 1953 and were demonetized due to inflation.

Yen edit

 
Early 1-yen coin, 26.96 grams of 90% fine silver, Japan, Meiji year 34 (1901)
 
20 yen coin from 1870 (year 3 of Meiji)

In 1897, the silver 1 yen coin was demonetized and the sizes of the gold coins were reduced by 50%, with 5, 10 and 20 yen coins issued.

After the war, brass 50 sen, 1 and 5 yen were introduced between 1946 and 1948. The current-type holed brass 5 yen was introduced in 1949, the bronze 10 yen in 1951, and the aluminum 1 yen in 1955.

In 1955 the first unholed, nickel 50 yen was introduced. In 1957, silver 100 yen pieces were introduced, followed by the holed 50 yen coin in 1959. These were replaced in 1967 by the current cupro-nickel 100 yen along with a smaller 50 yen.[16]

In 1982, the first cupronickel 500 yen coin was introduced. Alongside with the 5 Swiss franc coin, the 500 yen coin is one of the highest-valued coin to be used regularly in the world, with value of US$4.5 as of October 2017. Because of its high face value, the 500 yen coin has been a favorite target for counterfeiters, resulting in the issuance in 2000 of the second nickel-brass 500 yen coin with added security features. Continued counterfeiting of the latter resulted in the issuance in 2021 of the third bi-metallic 500 yen coin with more improvements in security features.

Currently circulating coins[17]
Image Value Technical parameters Description Date of first minting
Diameter Thickness Mass Composition Edge Obverse Reverse
  ¥1 20 mm 1.5 mm 1 g 100% aluminium Smooth Young tree, state title, value Value, year of minting 1955
  ¥5 22 mm 1.5 mm 3.75 g 60–70% copper
30–40% zinc
Smooth Ear of Rice, gear, water, value State title, year of minting 1949 (rarely)[18]
1959
  ¥10 23.5 mm 1.5 mm 4.5 g 95% copper
3–4% zinc
1–2% tin
Reeded Phoenix Hall, Byōdō-in, state title, value Evergreen tree, value, year of minting 1951 (rarely)[18]
Smooth 1959
  ¥50 21 mm 1.7 mm 4 g Cupronickel
75% copper
25% nickel
Reeded Chrysanthemum, state title, value Value, year of minting 1967[c]
  ¥100 22.6 mm 1.7 mm 4.8 g Cupronickel
75% copper
25% nickel
Reeded Cherry blossoms, state title, value Value, year of minting 1967[d]
  ¥500 26.5 mm 1.85 mm 7.2 g Cupronickel
75% copper
25% nickel
Lettered Paulownia, state title, value Bamboo, Mandarin orange, Value, year of minting 1982
  ¥500 26.5 mm 2 mm 7 g (Nickel-brass) 72% copper
20% zinc
8% nickel
Reeded slantingly Paulownia, state title, value Bamboo, Mandarin orange, Value, year of minting 2000
  ¥500 26.5 mm 1.81 mm 7.1 g Bi-metallic (75% copper
12.5% zinc
12.5% nickel)
Reeded helically Paulownia, state title, value Bamboo, Mandarin orange, Value, year of minting 2021
These images are to scale at 2.5 pixels per millimetre. For table standards, see the coin specification table.

Due to the great differences in style, size, weight and the pattern present on the edge of the coin they are easy for people with visual impairments to tell apart from one another.

Unholed Holed
Smooth edge ¥1 (light)
¥10 (medium)
¥5
Reeded edge ¥100 (medium)
¥500 (heavy)
¥50

Commemorative coins have been minted on various occasions in base metal, silver and gold.[21] The first of these were silver ¥100 and ¥1,000 Summer Olympic coins issued for the 1964 games. The largest issuance by denomination and total face value were 10 million gold coins of ¥100,000 denomination for the 60th anniversary of reign of the Shōwa Emperor in 1986, totalling ¥1 trillion and utilizing 200,000 kg fine gold. ¥500 commemorative coins have been regularly issued since 1985. In 2008 commemorative ¥500 and ¥1,000 coins were issued featuring Japan's 47 prefectures. Even though all commemorative coins can be spent like ordinary (non-commemorative) coins, they do not normally circulate, and ¥100,000 coins are treated with caution due to the discovery of counterfeits.[22]

The 1 yen coin is made out of 100% aluminum and can float on water if placed correctly.

Banknotes edit

The issuance of yen banknotes began in 1872, two years after the currency was introduced. Denominations have ranged from 1 yen to 10,000 yen; since 1984, the lowest-valued banknote is the 1,000 yen note. Before and during World War II, various bodies issued banknotes in yen, such as the Ministry of Finance and the Imperial Japanese National Bank. The Allied forces also issued some notes shortly after the war. Since then, the Bank of Japan has been the exclusive note issuing authority. The bank has issued five series after World War II.

Japan is generally considered a cash-based society, with 38% of payments in Japan made by cash in 2014.[23] Possible explanations are that cash payments protect one's privacy, merchants do not have to wait for payment, and it does not carry any negative connotation like credit.

At present, portraits of people from the Meiji period and later are printed on Japanese bank notes. The reason for this is that from the viewpoint of preventing forgery, it is desirable to use a precise photograph as an original rather than a painting for a portrait.[24][25]

Series E banknotes edit

Series E banknotes were introduced in 2004 in ¥1000, ¥5000, and ¥10,000 denominations. The EURion constellation pattern is present in the designs.

Image Value Dimensions Main Color Description Series Date of issue
Obverse Reverse Obverse Reverse
    ¥1000 150 × 76 mm Blue Hideyo Noguchi Mount Fuji, Lake Motosu and cherry blossoms Series E November 1, 2004
    ¥2000 154 × 76 mm Green Shureimon The Tale of Genji and portrait of Murasaki Shikibu Series D July 19, 2000
    ¥5000 156 × 76 mm Purple Ichiyō Higuchi Kakitsubata-zu (Painting of irises, a work by Ogata Kōrin) Series E November 1, 2004
    ¥10,000 160 × 76 mm Brown Fukuzawa Yukichi Statue of hōō (phoenix) from Byōdō-in Temple Series E November 1, 2004

Series F banknotes edit

On April 9, 2019, Finance Minister Tarō Asō announced new designs for Series F banknotes ¥1000, ¥5000, and ¥10,000 notes, for use beginning in July 3, 2024.[26] The ¥1000 bill will feature Kitasato Shibasaburō and The Great Wave off Kanagawa, the ¥5000 bill will feature Tsuda Umeko and Wisteria flowers, and the ¥10,000 bill will feature Shibusawa Eiichi and Tokyo Station. The Ministry decided to not redesign the ¥2000 note due to low circulation.

Series F (2024, scheduled)
Image Value Dimensions Main

Color

Description Date of issue
Obverse Reverse Obverse Reverse
    ¥1000 150 × 76 mm Blue Kitasato Shibasaburō The Great Wave off Kanagawa (from Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji series by Hokusai) July 3, 2024
    ¥5000 156 × 76 mm Purple Umeko Tsuda Wisteria flowers
    ¥10,000 160 × 76 mm Brown Shibusawa Eiichi Tokyo Station (Marunouchi side)

History edit

Early history (1868–1876) edit

 
5 yen coin from 1870 (year 3)
 
50 sen coin from 1870 (year 3)

Although the Edo Shogunate collapsed with the Meiji Restoration and a new government was born, the monetary system still took over that of the former entity. During this unstable period, the confusion caused by this form of exchange caused economic turmoil.[27] The gold (counting money) system of eastern Japan and the silver (weighing money) system of the western Japan were not unified, and the difference in the gold-silver ratio caused a large amount of gold to flow overseas at the end of the Tokugawa shogunate. Emperor Meiji responded to this by appointing Ōkuma Shigenobu as head of Japan's monetary reform program. He worked with Inoue Kaoru, Itō Hirobumi, and Shibusawa Eiichi to run the Ministry of Finance, seeking to introduce a modern monetary system into Japan. Ōkuma eventually proposed that coins, which were previously square, be made into circles, and that the names of the traditional currencies, ryō (両), bu (分) and shu (朱), be unified into yen (円), which was accepted by the government.[28] Other rejected proposals included physical weight units of "Fun" and "Momme" which never made it past the pattern stage.[29][30][31]

The first gold yen coins consisted of 2, 5, and 20 yen coins which were struck throughout 1870. Five yen coins were first struck in gold for the Japanese government in 1870 at the San Francisco Mint.[32] During this time a new mint was being established at Osaka, which did not receive the gold bullion needed for coinage until the following year.[33] Gold bullion was delivered from private Japanese citizens, foreigners, and the Japanese government.[34] Initially the government opted for silver, which would become the standard unit of value leaving gold coinage as a subsidiary.[35] While gold coinage couldn't be produced domestically in 1870, the mint at Osaka could produce silver coins which included denominations of 5, 10, 20, and 50 sen.[36][37] None of these coins dated "1870" circulated until the Meiji government officially adopted the "yen" as Japan's modern unit of currency on June 27, 1871.[38] This Act formally stipulated the adoption of the decimal accounting system of yen (1, ), sen (1100, ), and rin (11000, ). The new currency was gradually introduced beginning from July of that year.

Japanese yen denominated paper currency was also conceived with the coins in 1870 as Meiji Tsuho notes by Italian engraver Edoardo Chiossone.[39] These were released as fiat currency in denominations of 1, 2, 5, 10, 50, and 100 yen along with subsidiary notes of 10, 20, and 50 sen in 1872. Almost concurrently, the government established a series of national banks modeled after the system in the United States which issued national bank notes.

Satsuma Rebellion and aftermath (1877–1887) edit

Massive inflation from the Satsuma Rebellion in 1877 caused a glut of non-redeemable fiat currency notes. The issuance of national fiat banknotes was ultimately suspended in 1880 by then prime minister Matsukata Masayoshi.[40][41] New policies were put into place which included the establishment of a centralized banking system.[42][41] The Bank of Japan hence commenced operations on October 10, 1882 with the authority to print banknotes that could be exchanged for the old Government and National Bank Notes.[43][44] By May 1883, another act provided the redemption and retirement of national bank notes.[45][46] The National Bank Act was amended again in March 1896, providing for the dissolution of the national banks on the expiration of their charters.[45] This amendment also prohibited national bank notes from circulating after December 31, 1899.[47] In that year, Japan adopted a gold exchange standard, defining the yen as 0.75 g fine gold or US$0.4985.[48]

This exchange rate remained in place until Japan left the gold standard in December 1931, after which the yen fell to $0.30 by July 1932 and to $0.20 by 1933.[49]

It remained steady at around $0.30 until the start of the Pacific War on December 7, 1941, at which time it fell to $0.23.[50]

The sen and the rin were eventually taken out of circulation at the end of 1953.[51]

Fixed value of the yen to the U.S. dollar edit

No true exchange rate existed for the yen between December 7, 1941, and April 25, 1949; wartime inflation reduced the yen to a fraction of its prewar value.

After a period of instability, on April 25, 1949, the U.S. occupation government fixed the value of the yen at ¥360 per USD through a United States plan, which was part of the Bretton Woods system, to stabilize prices in the Japanese economy.[52]

That exchange rate was maintained until 1971, when the United States abandoned the gold standard, ending a key element of the Bretton Woods system, and setting in motion changes that eventually led to floating exchange rates in 1973.

Yen and major currencies float edit

By 1971, the yen had become undervalued. Japanese exports were costing too little in international markets, and imports from abroad were costing the Japanese too much. This undervaluation was reflected in the current account balance, which had risen from the deficits of the early 1960s, to a then-large surplus of US$5.8 billion in 1971. The belief that the yen, and several other major currencies, were undervalued motivated the United States' actions in 1971.

Following the United States' measures to devalue the dollar in the summer of 1971, the Japanese government agreed to a new, fixed exchange rate as part of the Smithsonian Agreement, signed at the end of the year. This agreement set the exchange rate at ¥308 per US$. However, the new fixed rates of the Smithsonian Agreement were difficult to maintain in the face of supply and demand pressures in the foreign-exchange market. In early 1973, the rates were abandoned, and the major nations of the world allowed their currencies to float.

Yen adoption in Okinawa edit

After World War II the United States-administered Okinawa issued a higher-valued currency called the B yen from 1946 to 1958, which was then replaced by the U.S. dollar at the rate of $1 = 120 B yen. Upon the reversion of Okinawa to Japan in 1972 the Japanese yen then replaced the dollar. In light of the dollar's reduction in value from ¥360 to ¥308 just before the reversion, an unannounced "currency confirmation" took place on October 9, 1971, wherein residents disclosed their dollar holdings in cash and bank accounts; dollars held that day amounting to US$60 million were entitled for conversion in 1972 at a higher rate of ¥360.[53]

Japanese government intervention in the currency market edit

In the 1970s, Japanese government and business people were very concerned that a rise in the value of the yen would hurt export growth by making Japanese products less competitive and would damage the industrial base. The government, therefore, continued to intervene heavily in foreign-exchange marketing (buying or selling dollars), even after the 1973 decision to allow the yen to float.[54]

Despite intervention, market pressures caused the yen to continue climbing in value, peaking temporarily at an average of ¥271 per US$ in 1973, before the impact of the 1973 oil crisis was felt. The increased costs of imported oil caused the yen to depreciate to a range of ¥290 per US$ to ¥300 per US$ between 1974 and 1976. The re-emergence of trade surpluses drove the yen back up to ¥211 in 1978. This currency strengthening was again reversed by the second oil shock in 1979, with the yen dropping to ¥227 per US$ by 1980.[54]

Yen in the early 1980s edit

During the first half of the 1980s, the yen failed to rise in value, though current account surpluses returned and grew quickly. From ¥221 per US$ in 1981, the average value of the yen actually dropped to ¥239 per US$ in 1985. The rise in the current account surplus generated stronger demand for yen in foreign-exchange markets, but this trade-related demand for yen was offset by other factors. A wide differential in interest rates, with United States interest rates much higher than those in Japan, and the continuing moves to deregulate the international flow of capital, led to a large net outflow of capital from Japan. This capital flow increased the supply of yen in foreign-exchange markets, as Japanese investors changed their yen for other currencies (mainly dollars) to invest overseas. This kept the yen weak relative to the dollar and fostered the rapid rise in the Japanese trade surplus that took place in the 1980s.

Effect of the Plaza Accord edit

 
 
JPY nominal and real effective exchange rates (2005 = 100)

In 1985, a dramatic change began. Finance officials from major nations signed an agreement (the Plaza Accord) affirming that the dollar was overvalued (and, therefore, the yen undervalued). This agreement, and shifting supply and demand pressures in the markets, led to a rapid rise in the value of the yen. From its average of ¥239 per US$ in 1985, the yen rose to a peak of ¥128 in 1988, virtually doubling its value relative to the dollar. After declining somewhat in 1989 and 1990, it reached a new high of ¥123 to US$ in December 1992. In April 1995, the yen hit a peak of under 80 yen/US$, temporarily making Japan's economy nearly the size of that of the US.[55]

Post-bubble years edit

The yen declined during the Japanese asset price bubble and continued to do so afterwards, reaching a low of ¥134 to US$ in February 2002. The Bank of Japan's policy of zero interest rates has discouraged yen investments, with the carry trade of investors borrowing yen and investing in better-paying currencies (thus further pushing down the yen) estimated to be as large as $1 trillion.[56] In February 2007, The Economist estimated that the yen was 15% undervalued against the dollar, and as much as 40% undervalued against the euro.[57]

After the global economic crisis of 2008 edit

 
Comparison of the GNP-weighted nominal exchange rates: CHF and JPY versus CNY, EUR, USD, and GBP

However, this trend of depreciation reversed after the global economic crisis of 2008. Other major currencies, except the Swiss franc, have been declining relative to the yen.

On April 4, 2013, the Bank of Japan announced that they would expand their asset purchase program by $1.4 trillion in two years. The Bank of Japan hopes to bring Japan from deflation to inflation, aiming for 2% inflation. The number of purchases is so large that it is expected to double the money supply, but this move has sparked concerns that the authorities in Japan are deliberately devaluing the yen to boost exports.[58] However, the commercial sector in Japan worried that the devaluation would trigger an increase in import prices, especially for energy and raw materials.

Redenomination proposals edit

Numerous proposals have been made since the 1990s to redenominate the yen by introducing a new unit or new yen, equal to 100 yen, and nearly worth one U.S. dollar. This has not happened to date, since the yen remains trusted globally despite its low unit value, and due to the huge costs of reissuing new currency and updating currency-reading hardware. The negative impact of postponing upgrades to various computer software until redenomination occurs, in particular, was also cited.[59]

Determinants of value edit

Most traded currencies by value
Currency distribution of global foreign exchange market turnover[60]
Rank Currency ISO 4217
code
Symbol or
abbreviation
Proportion of daily volume
April 2019 April 2022
1 U.S. dollar USD US$ 88.3% 88.5%
2 Euro EUR 32.3% 30.5%
3 Japanese yen JPY ¥ / 16.8% 16.7%
4 Sterling GBP £ 12.8% 12.9%
5 Renminbi CNY ¥ / 4.3% 7.0%
6 Australian dollar AUD A$ 6.8% 6.4%
7 Canadian dollar CAD C$ 5.0% 6.2%
8 Swiss franc CHF CHF 4.9% 5.2%
9 Hong Kong dollar HKD HK$ 3.5% 2.6%
10 Singapore dollar SGD S$ 1.8% 2.4%
11 Swedish krona SEK kr 2.0% 2.2%
12 South Korean won KRW ₩ / 2.0% 1.9%
13 Norwegian krone NOK kr 1.8% 1.7%
14 New Zealand dollar NZD NZ$ 2.1% 1.7%
15 Indian rupee INR 1.7% 1.6%
16 Mexican peso MXN $ 1.7% 1.5%
17 New Taiwan dollar TWD NT$ 0.9% 1.1%
18 South African rand ZAR R 1.1% 1.0%
19 Brazilian real BRL R$ 1.1% 0.9%
20 Danish krone DKK kr 0.6% 0.7%
21 Polish złoty PLN 0.6% 0.7%
22 Thai baht THB ฿ 0.5% 0.4%
23 Israeli new shekel ILS 0.3% 0.4%
24 Indonesian rupiah IDR Rp 0.4% 0.4%
25 Czech koruna CZK 0.4% 0.4%
26 UAE dirham AED د.إ 0.2% 0.4%
27 Turkish lira TRY 1.1% 0.4%
28 Hungarian forint HUF Ft 0.4% 0.3%
29 Chilean peso CLP CLP$ 0.3% 0.3%
30 Saudi riyal SAR 0.2% 0.2%
31 Philippine peso PHP 0.3% 0.2%
32 Malaysian ringgit MYR RM 0.2% 0.2%
33 Colombian peso COP COL$ 0.2% 0.2%
34 Russian ruble RUB 1.1% 0.2%
35 Romanian leu RON L 0.1% 0.1%
36 Peruvian sol PEN S/ 0.1% 0.1%
37 Bahraini dinar BHD .د.ب 0.0% 0.0%
38 Bulgarian lev BGN BGN 0.0% 0.0%
39 Argentine peso ARS ARG$ 0.1% 0.0%
Other 1.8% 2.3%
Total[note 1] 200.0% 200.0%
  1. ^ The total sum is 200% because each currency trade is counted twice: once for the currency being bought and once for the one being sold. The percentages above represent the proportion of all trades involving a given currency, regardless of which side of the transaction it is on. For example, the US dollar is bought or sold in 88% of all currency trades, while the euro is bought or sold in 31% of all trades.

Beginning in December 1931, Japan gradually shifted from the gold standard system to the managed currency system.[61]

The relative value of the yen is determined in foreign exchange markets by the economic forces of supply and demand. The supply of the yen in the market is governed by the desire of yen holders to exchange their yen for other currencies to purchase goods, services, or assets. The demand for the yen is governed by the desire of foreigners to buy goods and services in Japan and by their interest in investing in Japan (buying yen-denominated real and financial assets).

Since the 1990s, the Bank of Japan, the country's central bank, has kept interest rates low to spur economic growth. Short-term lending rates have responded to this monetary relaxation and fell from 3.7% to 1.3% between 1993 and 2008.[62] Low interest rates combined with a ready liquidity for the yen prompted investors to borrow money in Japan and invest it in other countries (a practice known as carry trade). This has helped to keep the value of the yen low compared to other currencies.[citation needed]

International reserve currency edit

The special drawing rights (SDR) valuation is an IMF basket of the world's major reserve currencies, including the Japanese yen. Its share of 8.33% as of 2016 has declined from 18% as of 2000.[63]

The percental composition of currencies of official foreign exchange reserves from 1995 to 2022.[64][65][66]

  Euro
  Other

Historical exchange rate edit

Before the war commenced, the yen traded on an average of 3.6 yen to the dollar. After the war the yen went as low as 600 yen per USD in 1947, as a result of currency overprinting in order to fund the war, and afterwards to fund the reconstruction.

When MacArthur and the US forces entered Japan in 1945, they decreed an official conversion rate of 15 yen to the USD. Within 1945–1946: the rate tanked to 50 yen to the USD because of the ongoing inflation. During the first half of 1946, the rate fluctuated to 66 yen to the USD and eventually plummeting to 600 yen to the dollar by 1947 because of the failure of the economic remedies. Eventually, the peg was officially moved to 270 yen to the dollar in 1948 before being adjusted again from 1949 to 1971 to 360 yen to the dollar.

Beginning in 2022 the Yen rate has become increasingly weaker with each passing month. As a result, the yen fell to the 151 yen level against the US dollar, marking the first depreciation of the yen in 32 years on a nominal effective exchange rate and the first depreciation on a real effective exchange rate in 52 years. The reasoning behind this is the US moving towards higher interest rates, while Japan remains "ultra-low". Other factors include the strength of the US economy and its labor market, while Japan continues to lag behind its peers to bring its economy back to its pre-pandemic size. Japan's trade balance staying in the red is also likely feeding into the weaker yen.[6] Interviewed by Asahi Shimbun Digital in September 2022, Izuru Kato, chief economist at Totan Research, expressed concern about the sharp fall in its value since 2022.[7] and Moneypost reported that the exchange rate instability had made it impossible to exchange the currency for Japanese yen at some exchange offices.[67] With the rate returning to ¥150 in November 2023, concern deepened as Nikkei sources expected the yen to depreciate further in the future.[68] The Economist (London) expressed concern over the performance of the Bank of Japan, suggested that a systemic risk is posed to the world financial system.[8]

Average spot rates v USD edit

The table below shows the monthly average of the U.S. dollar–yen spot rate (JPY per USD) at 17:00 JST:[69][70][71]

Year Month
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
1949–1971 360
1972 308
1973 301.15 270.00 265.83 265.50 264.95 265.30 263.45 265.30 265.70 266.68 279.00 280.00
1974 299.00 287.60 276.00 279.75 281.90 284.10 297.80 302.70 298.50 299.85 300.10 300.95
1975 297.85 286.60 293.80 293.30 291.35 296.35 297.35 297.90 302.70 301.80 303.00 305.15
1976 303.70 302.25 299.70 299.40 299.95 297.40 293.40 288.76 287.30 293.70 296.45 293.00
1977 288.25 283.25 277.30 277.50 277.30 266.50 266.30 267.43 264.50 250.65 244.20 240.00
1978 241.74 238.83 223.40 223.90 223.15 204.50 190.80 190.00 189.15 176.05 197.80 195.10
1979 201.40 202.35 209.30 219.15 219.70 217.00 216.90 220.05 223.45 237.80 249.50 239.90
1980 237.73 244.07 248.61 251.45 228.06 218.11 220.91 224.34 214.95 209.21 212.99 209.79
1981 202.19 205.76 208.84 215.07 220.78 224.21 232.11 233.62 229.83 231.40 223.76 219.02
1982 224.55 235.25 240.64 244.90 236.97 251.11 255.10 258.67 262.74 271.33 265.02 242.49
1983 232.90 236.27 237.92 237.70 234.78 240.06 240.49 244.36 242.71 233.00 235.25 234.34
1984 233.95 233.67 225.52 224.95 230.67 233.29 242.72 242.24 245.19 246.89 243.29 247.96
1985 254.11 260.34 258.43 251.67 251.57 248.95 241.70 237.20 236.91 214.84 203.85 202.75
1986 200.05 184.62 178.83 175.56 166.89 167.82 158.65 154.11 154.78 156.04 162.72 162.13
1987 154.48 153.49 151.56 142.96 140.47 144.52 150.20 147.57 143.03 143.48 135.25 128.25
1988 127.44 129.26 127.23 124.88 124.74 127.20 133.10 133.63 134.45 128.85 123.16 123.63
1989 127.24 127.77 130.35 132.01 138.40 143.92 140.63 141.20 145.06 141.99 143.55 143.62
1990 145.09 145.54 153.19 158.50 153.52 153.78 149.23 147.46 138.96 129.73 129.01 133.72
1991 133.65 130.44 137.09 137.15 138.02 139.83 137.98 136.85 134.59 130.81 129.64 128.07
1992 125.05 127.53 132.75 133.59 130.55 126.90 125.66 126.34 122.72 121.14 123.84 123.98
1993 125.02 120.97 117.02 112.37 110.23 107.29 107.77 103.72 105.27 106.94 107.81 109.72
1994 111.49 106.14 105.12 103.48 104.00 102.69 098.54 099.86 098.79 098.40 098.00 100.17
1995 099.79 098.23 090.77 083.53 085.21 084.54 087.24 094.56 100.31 100.68 101.89 101.86
1996 105.81 105.70 105.85 107.40 106.49 108.82 109.25 107.84 109.76 112.30 112.27 113.74
1997 118.18 123.01 122.66 125.47 118.91 114.31 115.10 117.89 120.74 121.13 125.35 129.52
1998 129.45 125.85 128.83 131.81 135.08 140.35 140.66 144.76 134.50 121.33 120.61 117.40
1999 113.14 116.73 119.71 119.66 122.14 120.81 119.76 113.30 107.45 106.00 104.83 102.61
2000 105.21 109.34 106.62 105.35 108.13 106.13 107.90 108.02 106.75 108.34 108.87 112.21
2001 117.10 116.10 121.21 123.77 121.83 122.19 124.63 121.53 118.91 121.32 122.33 127.32
2002 132.66 133.53 131.15 131.01 126.39 123.44 118.08 119.03 120.49 123.88 121.54 122.17
2003 118.67 119.29 118.49 119.82 117.26 118.27 118.65 118.81 115.09 109.58 109.18 107.87
2004 106.39 106.54 108.57 107.31 112.27 109.45 109.34 110.41 110.05 108.90 104.86 103.82
2005 103.27 104.84 105.30 107.35 106.94 108.62 111.94 110.65 111.03 114.84 118.45 118.60
2006 115.33 117.81 117.31 117.13 111.53 114.57 115.59 115.86 117.02 118.59 117.33 117.26
2007 120.59 120.49 117.29 118.81 120.77 122.64 121.56 116.74 115.01 115.77 111.24 112.28
2008 107.60 107.18 100.83 102.41 104.11 106.86 106.76 109.24 106.71 100.20 096.89 091.21
2009 090.35 092.53 097.83 098.92 096.43 096.58 094.49 094.90 091.40 090.28 089.11 089.52
2010 091.26 090.28 090.56 093.43 091.79 090.89 087.67 085.44 084.31 081.80 082.43 083.38
2011 082.63 082.52 081.82 083.34 081.23 080.49 079.44 077.09 076.78 076.72 077.50 077.81
2012 076.94 078.47 082.37 081.42 079.70 079.27 078.96 078.68 078.17 078.97 080.92 083.60
2013 089.15 093.07 094.73 097.74 101.01 097.52 099.66 097.83 099.30 097.73 100.04 103.42
2014 103.94 102.02 102.30 102.54 101.78 102.05 101.73 102.95 107.16 108.03 116.24 119.29
2015 118.25 118.59 120.37 119.57 120.82 123.7 123.31 123.17 120.13 119.99 122.58 121.78
2016 118.18 115.01 113.05 109.72 109.24 105.44 103.97 101.28 101.99 103.81 108.33 116.01
2017 114.69 113.13 113.02 110.08 112.24 110.89 112.50 109.90 110.67 112.94 112.89 112.96
2018 110.74 107.90 106.01 107.49 109.74 110.02 111.41 111.06 111.91 112.81 113.36 112.38
2019 108.97 110.36 111.22 111.63 109.76 108.07 108.23 106.34 107.40 108.12 108.88 109.18
2020 109.38 109.96 107.67 107.83 107.23 107.64 106.76 106.00 105.61 105.21 104.30 103.75
2021 103.79 105.44 108.81 109.10 109.17 110.12 110.26 109.85 110.15 113.14 113.99 113.84
2022 114.84 115.24 118.67 126.31 128.82 134.10 136.39 135.28 143.09 147.16 142.17 134.85
2023 130.28 132.69 133.86 133.40 137.39 141.33 141.20 144.73 147.65 149.59
Year Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Month
 
JPY/USD exchange rate since 1950
 
JPY/USD exchange rate in the Heisei and Reiwa eras
 
JPY/CAD exchange rate
 
JPY/EUR exchange rate
 
JPY/GBP exchange rate
 
JPY/CHF exchange rate
 
JPY/AUD exchange rate
 
JPY/NZD exchange rate
 
JPY/ZAR exchange rate
 
JPY/CNY exchange rate
 
KRW/JPY exchange rate
 
JPY/INR exchange rate
Current JPY exchange rates
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See also edit

Older currency edit

Notes edit

  1. ^ ; yuán is not a simplified form of ; ; yuán, but a completely different character. One of the reasons for replacements is said to be that the previous character had too many strokes.[9] Both characters have the same pronunciation in Mandarin, but not in Japanese. In 1695, certain Japanese coins were issued whose surface has the character gen (), but this is an abbreviation of the era name Genroku (元禄).
  2. ^ It is known that in ancient Japanese there were distinct syllables /e/ /we/ /je/. From middle of the 10th century, /e/ () had merged with /je/, and both were pronounced [je], while a kana for /je/ had disappeared. Around the 13th century, /we/ () and /e/ ceased to be distinguished (in pronunciation, but not in writing system) and both came to be pronounced [je].[10]
  3. ^ Previously minted pure nickel 50 yen coins dated between 1955 and 1966 are still legal tender.[18] These are rarely seen in circulation due to the price of nickel bullion.[19]
  4. ^ Previously minted 100 yen silver coins dated between 1957 and 1966 are still legal tender.[18] Silver was dropped from the coinage in 1967, which led to coin hoarding and silver smuggling outside of the country for melting.[20] In light of this and their changed design, its unclear if these coins still circulate today.

References edit

Citations edit

  1. ^ "Statistics Bureau Home Page/Consumer Price Index". Stat.go.jp. from the original on August 15, 2022. Retrieved August 28, 2022.
  2. ^ "Foreign exchange turnover in April 2013: preliminary global results" (PDF). Bank for International Settlements. (PDF) from the original on November 6, 2021. Retrieved February 7, 2015.
  3. ^ Mitsura Misawa (2007). Cases on International Business and Finance in Japanese Corporations. Hong Kong University Press. p. 152.
  4. ^ "ECONOMIC SUPERPOWERS AT ODDS: As Yen rises, Japanese and U.S. GDPs Go Head-to-Head, A forecast that Japan's economy will surpass America's by 2000 almost came true on April 19". Los Angeles Times. May 8, 1995. from the original on December 20, 2021. Retrieved February 3, 2021.
  5. ^ "History of Japanese Yen". Currency History. August 24, 2014. from the original on December 14, 2021. Retrieved July 12, 2016.
  6. ^ a b "Why Japan's Yen Is the Weakest in 20 Years and What That Means". Bloomberg News. June 10, 2022. from the original on August 14, 2022. Retrieved August 10, 2022.
  7. ^ a b "日本円が「ジャンク通貨」に? ロシアや新興国通貨よりも価値下落:朝日新聞デジタル" [Will the Japanese yen become a "junk currency"? Decrease in value compared to Russian and emerging market currencies]. 朝日新聞デジタル (in Japanese). September 2, 2022. Retrieved November 15, 2023.
  8. ^ a b "How Japan poses a threat to the global financial system". The Economist. November 2, 2023.
  9. ^ a b Ryuzo Mikami [ja], an article about the yen in Heibonsha World Encyclopedia, Kato Shuichi(ed.), Vol. 3, Tokyo: Heibonsha, 2007.
  10. ^ S. Hashimoto (1950). 国語音韻の変遷 [The History of Japanese Phonology] (in Japanese). Tokyo: Iwanami Shoten. from the original on March 7, 2017. Retrieved March 29, 2012.
  11. ^ Medhurst (1830), p. 296.
  12. ^ Hepburn (1867).
  13. ^ . www.meijigakuin.ac.jp. Archived from the original on October 30, 2013. Retrieved December 29, 2009.
  14. ^ 明治学院大学図書館 – 和英語林集成デジタルアーカイブス (in Japanese). Meijigakuin.ac.jp. from the original on December 16, 2013. Retrieved June 12, 2016.
  15. ^ MacKay, James (2006). The Complete Illustrated Guide to Coins & Coin Collecting. Anness Publishing Ltd. p. 226.
  16. ^ Japan Mint. . Archived from the original on November 10, 2006. Retrieved September 7, 2006.
  17. ^ "Operations Coins Presently Minted: Japan Mint". from the original on March 23, 2023. Retrieved December 8, 2022.
  18. ^ a b c d "その他有効な銀行券・貨幣" (in Japanese). Bank of Japan. from the original on June 16, 2023. Retrieved June 15, 2023.
  19. ^ "Why the 50-yen coin has a hole and other fun facts about Japanese coins". Japan Today. December 1, 2013. from the original on September 15, 2020. Retrieved April 13, 2020.
  20. ^ Andrew Williams (2017). History of Digital Games: Developments in Art, Design and Interaction. CRC Press. p. 75. ISBN 9781317503811.
  21. ^ Japan Mint. . Archived from the original on November 9, 2006. Retrieved September 7, 2006.
  22. ^ Sanger, David E. (February 8, 1990). "Fake Coins Embarrass The Japanese". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. from the original on June 26, 2022. Retrieved February 20, 2023.
  23. ^ Soble, Jonathan (February 28, 2014). "Cash remains king in Japan". Financial Times. Archived from the original on December 10, 2022.
  24. ^ (in Japanese). Ministry of Finance. Japan. Archived from the original on September 10, 2021.
  25. ^ (in Japanese). Jiji Press. Archived from the original on April 28, 2021.
  26. ^ "Japan announces new ¥10,000, ¥5,000 and ¥1,000 bank notes as Reiwa Era looms". Japan Times. April 9, 2019. from the original on November 20, 2022. Retrieved April 9, 2019.
  27. ^ Japan Currency Museum (日本貨幣博物館) permanent exhibit, articles: The History of Japanese Currency, FAQs Japanese Currency
  28. ^ (in Japanese). Waseda University. October 21, 2019. Archived from the original on October 31, 2022. Retrieved October 31, 2022.
  29. ^ . Numismatic Guaranty Corporation. Archived from the original on August 20, 2019. Retrieved August 20, 2019.
  30. ^ . Professional Coin Grading Service. Archived from the original on January 19, 2020. Retrieved January 18, 2020.
  31. ^ . numisbids.com. Archived from the original on January 19, 2020. Retrieved August 21, 2019.
  32. ^ Edouard Frossard (1878). The Coin Collector's Journal. Vol. 3. Scott and Company. p. 40.
  33. ^ Annual Report of the Director of the United States Mint. United States Mint. 1895. p. 368.
  34. ^ Hisamitsu Shigehira (1976). Monogatari Monogatari. Mainichi Shimbun. pp. 176–178.
  35. ^ Report of the Adoption of the Gold Standard in Japan. Government Press. 1899. p. 2–8.
  36. ^ John Eatwell (2016). "Years-Estyate For Yen". Palgrave's Dictionary of Political Economy. Springer. p. 683. ISBN 9781349103584.
  37. ^ History - The First Period. Financial and Economic Annual of Japan. U.S. Government Printing Office. 1907. p. 25.
  38. ^ A. Piatt Andrew, Quarterly Journal of Economics, "The End of the Mexican Dollar", 18:3:321–356, 1904, p. 345
  39. ^ Gaoheng Zhang, Mario Mignone (2019). A bridge of Art and Culture Connecting Italy and Japan. Exchanges and Parallels between Italy and East Asia. Cambridge Scholars Publishing. p. 223. ISBN 9781527544628.
  40. ^ The Gold Standard in Japan. Sound Currency Committee of the Reform Club. 1899. p. 20.
  41. ^ a b Reserve Paper Money and Temporary Loan for the Redemption of Paper Money. Japanese Monographs. Oxford University Press. 1922. p. 32.
  42. ^ "A historical chronology of the Bank of Japan" (in Japanese). Bank of Japan. Retrieved January 13, 2021.
  43. ^ The Gold Standard in Japan. Sound Currency Committee of the Reform Club. 1899. p. 29.
  44. ^ "日本銀行創立の経緯について教えてください。". Bank of Japan. Retrieved January 14, 2021.
  45. ^ a b Herbert Max Bratter (1931). Abolition of the National Banks. U.S. Government Printing Office. p. 19.
  46. ^ Japan - Finance and Coinage System in Japan. The Americana: A Universal Reference Library, Comprising the Arts and Sciences, Literature, History, Biography, Geography, Commerce, Etc., of the World. Biographies. Vol. 15. Encyclopedia America Corporation. 1923. p. 706.
  47. ^ "国立銀行紙幣の通用及引換期限に関する法律". Ministry of Finance (Japan). Retrieved December 27, 2020.
  48. ^ . Archived from the original on November 24, 2005. Retrieved July 9, 2012.
  49. ^ pp. 347–348, "Average Exchange Rate: Banking and the Money Market", Japan Year Book 1933, Kenkyusha Press, Foreign Association of Japan, Tokyo
  50. ^ pp. 332–333, "Exchange and Interest Rates", Japan Year Book 1938–1939, Kenkyusha Press, Foreign Association of Japan, Tokyo
  51. ^ A law of the abolition of currencies in a small denomination and rounding off a fraction, July 15, 1953, Law No.60 (小額通貨の整理及び支払金の端数計算に関する法律, Shōgakutsūka no seiri oyobi shiharaikin no hasūkeisan ni kansuru hōritsu))
  52. ^ p. 1179, "Japan – Money, Weights and Measures", The Statesman's Year-Book 1950, Steinberg, S. H., Macmillan, New York
  53. ^ "50 years on / Shift from dollar to yen triggered upheaval in Okinawa". The Yomiuri Shimbun. January 25, 2022. from the original on August 14, 2022. Retrieved February 20, 2023.
  54. ^ a b Nanto, Dick K., Japan's Currency Intervention: Policy Issues, RL33178; Congressional Research Service, 2007 https://sgp.fas.org/crs/row/RL33178.pdf August 4, 2022, at the Wayback Machine
  55. ^ Hongo, Jun (September 13, 2011). "Despite mounting debt, yen still a safe haven". The Japan Times. from the original on June 10, 2020. Retrieved February 20, 2023.
  56. ^ Kambayashi, Satoshi (February 1, 2007). "What keeps bankers awake at night?". The Economist. London. from the original on February 20, 2007. (Note: archive contains original version of article in full)
  57. ^ Kambayashi, Satoshi (February 8, 2007). "Carry on living dangerously". The Economist. London. from the original on February 11, 2007. (Note: archive contains original version of article in full)
  58. ^ "Japan aims to jump-start economy with $1.4tn of quantitative easing". The Guardian. April 4, 2013. from the original on September 30, 2013. Retrieved May 23, 2013.
  59. ^ "Coalition sets up talks on yen's redenomination. - Free Online Library". from the original on December 14, 2021. Retrieved December 14, 2021.
  60. ^ "Triennial Central Bank Survey Foreign exchange turnover in April 2022" (PDF). Bank for International Settlements. October 27, 2022. p. 12. (PDF) from the original on October 27, 2022. Retrieved October 29, 2022.
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  63. ^ "IMF Launches New SDR Basket Including Chinese Renminbi, Determines New Currency Amounts". IMF. September 30, 2016. from the original on July 27, 2019. Retrieved July 10, 2019.
  64. ^ For 1995–99, 2006–22: "Currency Composition of Official Foreign Exchange Reserves (COFER)". Washington, DC: International Monetary Fund. April 3, 2023.
  65. ^ For 1999–2005: International Relations Committee Task Force on Accumulation of Foreign Reserves (February 2006), The Accumulation of Foreign Reserves (PDF), Occasional Paper Series, Nr. 43, Frankfurt am Main: European Central Bank, ISSN 1607-1484ISSN 1725-6534 (online).
  66. ^ Review of the International Role of the Euro (PDF), Frankfurt am Main: European Central Bank, December 2005, ISSN 1725-2210ISSN 1725-6593 (online).
  67. ^ "円安で日本円は"ジャンク通貨"になった 海外両替所に日本円の表示がないことも" [The depreciation of the yen has turned the Japanese yen into a "junk currency". Overseas currency exchange offices may not display Japanese yen.]. マネーポストWEB (in Japanese). August 25, 2022. Retrieved November 15, 2023.
  68. ^ "ドル円相場、「円弱」1ドル150円 理由は金利差だけじゃない" ["Weak yen" at 150 yen to the dollar The reason is not just the interest rate difference]. 日本経済新聞 (in Japanese). November 13, 2023. Retrieved November 15, 2023.
  69. ^ Bank of Japan: "Foreign Exchange Rates". 2006. June 17, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
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Sources edit

Further reading edit

External links edit

  • in
  • Images of historic and modern Japanese bank notes
  • Catalog of the coins of Japan (Numista)
  • Chart: US dollar in yen) (in German)
  • (in German)
  • Historical Currency Converter Estimates the historical value of the yen into other currencies
Preceded by:
Japanese mon
Currency of Japan
1870 –
Succeeded by:
Current

japanese, redirects, here, other, uses, disambiguation, japanese, symbol, code, official, currency, japan, third, most, traded, currency, foreign, exchange, market, after, united, states, dollar, euro, also, widely, used, third, reserve, currency, after, dolla. Yen redirects here For other uses see Yen disambiguation The yen Japanese 円 symbol code JPY is the official currency of Japan It is the third most traded currency in the foreign exchange market after the United States dollar US and the euro 2 It is also widely used as a third reserve currency after the US dollar and the euro Japanese yen日本円 Japanese 2000 yen note printed ShureimonThe 6 types of coins of the Japanese yenISO 4217CodeJPY numeric 392 UnitUnityenPluralThe language s of this currency do es not have a morphological plural distinction Symbol DenominationsBanknotes Freq used 1 000 5 000 10 000 Rarely used 2 000Coins Freq used 1 5 10 50 100 500DemographicsUser s JapanIssuanceCentral bankBank of Japan Websiteboj or jpPrinterNational Printing Bureau Websitenpb go jpMintJapan Mint Websitemint go jpValuationInflation2 8 November 2023 SourceStatistics Bureau of Japan 1 USD JPY exchange rate 1971 2023The New Currency Act of 1871 introduced Japan s modern currency system with the yen defined as 1 5 g 0 048 troy ounces of gold or 24 26 g 0 780 troy ounces of silver and divided decimally into 100 sen or 1 000 rin The yen replaced the previous Tokugawa coinage as well as the various hansatsu paper currencies issued by feudal han fiefs The Bank of Japan was founded in 1882 and given a monopoly on controlling the money supply 3 Following World War II the yen lost much of its prewar value To stabilize the Japanese economy the exchange rate of the yen was fixed at 360 per US as part of the Bretton Woods system When that system was abandoned in 1971 the yen became undervalued and was allowed to float The yen had appreciated to a peak of 271 per US in 1973 then underwent periods of depreciation and appreciation due to the 1973 oil crisis arriving at a value of 227 per US by 1980 Since 1973 the Japanese government has maintained a policy of currency intervention so the yen is under a dirty float regime The Japanese government focused on a competitive export market and tried to ensure a low exchange rate for the yen through a trade surplus The Plaza Accord of 1985 temporarily changed this situation the exchange rate fell from its average of 239 per dollar in 1985 to 128 in 1988 and led to a peak rate of 80 against the US in 1995 effectively increasing the value of Japan s GDP in dollar terms to almost that of the United States 4 Since that time however the world price of the yen has greatly decreased The Bank of Japan maintains a policy of zero to near zero interest rates and the Japanese government has previously had a strict anti inflation policy 5 From late 2021 to late 2023 the yen depreciated against the dollar by about 40 giving rise to serious concern in Japan about long term prospects for the currency 6 7 8 Contents 1 Pronunciation and etymology 2 Coins and banknotes 2 1 Coins 2 1 1 Rin 2 1 2 Sen 2 1 3 Yen 2 2 Banknotes 2 3 Series E banknotes 2 4 Series F banknotes 3 History 3 1 Early history 1868 1876 3 2 Satsuma Rebellion and aftermath 1877 1887 3 3 Fixed value of the yen to the U S dollar 3 4 Yen and major currencies float 3 5 Yen adoption in Okinawa 3 6 Japanese government intervention in the currency market 3 7 Yen in the early 1980s 3 8 Effect of the Plaza Accord 3 9 Post bubble years 3 10 After the global economic crisis of 2008 3 11 Redenomination proposals 4 Determinants of value 5 International reserve currency 6 Historical exchange rate 6 1 Average spot rates v USD 7 See also 7 1 Older currency 8 Notes 9 References 9 1 Citations 9 2 Sources 10 Further reading 11 External linksPronunciation and etymology editThe name Yen derives from the Japanese word 圓 en eɴ round which borrows its phonetic reading from Chinese yuan similar to North Korean won and South Korean won Originally the Chinese had traded silver in mass called sycees and when Spanish and Mexican silver coins arrived from the Philippines the Chinese called them silver rounds Chinese 銀圓 pinyin yinyuan for their circular shapes 9 The coins and the name also appeared in Japan While the Chinese eventually replaced 圆 圓 with 元 a the Japanese continued to use the same word which was given the shinjitaiform 円 in reforms at the end of World War II The spelling and pronunciation yen is standard in English because when Japan was first encountered by Europeans around the 16th century Japanese e え and we ゑ both had been pronounced je and Portuguese missionaries had spelled them ye b By the middle of the 18th century e and we came to be pronounced e as in modern Japanese although some regions retain the je pronunciation Walter Henry Medhurst who had neither been to Japan nor met any Japanese people having consulted mainly a Japanese Dutch dictionary spelled some e s as ye in his An English and Japanese and Japanese and English Vocabulary 1830 11 In the early Meiji era James Curtis Hepburn following Medhurst spelled all e s as ye in his A Japanese and English dictionary 1867 in Japanese e and i are slightly palatalized somewhat as in Russian 12 That was the first full scale Japanese English English Japanese dictionary which had a strong influence on Westerners in Japan and probably prompted the spelling yen Hepburn revised most ye s to e in the 3rd edition 1886 13 to mirror the contemporary pronunciation except yen 14 Coins and banknotes editCoins edit This section may require cleanup to meet Wikipedia s quality standards The specific problem is This section needs to be expanded and sourced as a summary of the articles present Please help improve this section if you can June 2023 Learn how and when to remove this template message The obverse side of all coins shows the coin s value in kanji as well as the country name through 1945 Dai Nippon 大日本 Great Japan after 1945 Nippon koku 日本国 State of Japan except for the current 5 yen coin with the country name on the reverse The reverse side of all coins shows the year of mintage which is not shown in Gregorian calendar years but instead in the regnal year of the current emperor s reign Royal portraits have never appeared on Japanese coins as the image of the emperor remains sacred 15 Coins minted in 1900 bear the year 明治 Meiji 33 the 33rd year of Emperor Meiji s reign Coins minted in 1920 bear the year 大正 Taisho 9 the 9th year of Emperor Taisho s reign Coins minted in 1980 bear the year 昭和 Showa 55 the 55th year of Emperor Hirohito s reign Coins minted in 2000 bear the year 平成 Heisei 12 the 12th year of Emperor Akihito s reign Coins minted in 2020 bear the year 令和 Reiwa 2 the 2nd year of Emperor Naruhito s reignRin edit Main articles 1 rin coin and 5 rin coin nbsp One rin coin from 1873 year 6 of Meiji Bronze coins worth one one thousandth of a yen called Rin were first introduced in 1873 One rin coins were very small measuring 15 75 mm in diameter and co circulated with mon coins of the old currency system Their small size eventually was their undoing as the rin was abandoned in 1884 due to unpopularity Five rin coins worth one two hundredth of a yen also used a bronze alloy These were successor coins to the equally valued half sen coin which had been previously minted until 1888 The decision to bring back an equally valued coin was in response to rising inflation caused by World War I which led to an overall shortage of subsidiary coins The mintage period for five rin coins was brief as they were discontinued after only four years of production due to their sharp decline in monetary value The overall demand for subsidiary coinage ended as Japan slipped into a post war recession Coins worth 1 and 5 rin were eventually officially taken out of circulation at the end of 1953 and demonetized Sen edit nbsp 50 sen coin from 1870 year 3 of Meiji Main articles Half sen coin 1 sen coin 2 sen coin 5 sen coin 10 sen coin 20 sen coin and 50 sen coin Subsidiary coins of sen were initially introduced in 1870 with a silver alloy in denominations of 5 10 20 and 50 sen Copper sen coins in denominations of half 1 and 2 came three years later as Japan acquired the technology needed to mint them The removal of silver from sen coinage began in 1889 when Cupronickel 5 sen coins were introduced By 1920 this included cupro nickel 10 sen and reduced size silver 50 sen coins Production of latter ceased in 1938 after which a variety of base metals were used to produce 1 5 and 10 sen coins during the Second World War While clay 5 and 10 sen coins were produced in 1945 they were not issued for circulation As with the Rin coins in denominations of less than 1 yen became invalid at the end of 1953 and were demonetized due to inflation Yen edit For formerly minted coins with a denomination of yen see 2 yen coin and 20 yen coin nbsp Early 1 yen coin 26 96 grams of 90 fine silver Japan Meiji year 34 1901 nbsp 20 yen coin from 1870 year 3 of Meiji In 1897 the silver 1 yen coin was demonetized and the sizes of the gold coins were reduced by 50 with 5 10 and 20 yen coins issued After the war brass 50 sen 1 and 5 yen were introduced between 1946 and 1948 The current type holed brass 5 yen was introduced in 1949 the bronze 10 yen in 1951 and the aluminum 1 yen in 1955 In 1955 the first unholed nickel 50 yen was introduced In 1957 silver 100 yen pieces were introduced followed by the holed 50 yen coin in 1959 These were replaced in 1967 by the current cupro nickel 100 yen along with a smaller 50 yen 16 In 1982 the first cupronickel 500 yen coin was introduced Alongside with the 5 Swiss franc coin the 500 yen coin is one of the highest valued coin to be used regularly in the world with value of US 4 5 as of October 2017 update Because of its high face value the 500 yen coin has been a favorite target for counterfeiters resulting in the issuance in 2000 of the second nickel brass 500 yen coin with added security features Continued counterfeiting of the latter resulted in the issuance in 2021 of the third bi metallic 500 yen coin with more improvements in security features Currently circulating coins 17 Image Value Technical parameters Description Date of first mintingDiameter Thickness Mass Composition Edge Obverse Reverse nbsp 1 20 mm 1 5 mm 1 g 100 aluminium Smooth Young tree state title value Value year of minting 1955 nbsp 5 22 mm 1 5 mm 3 75 g 60 70 copper30 40 zinc Smooth Ear of Rice gear water value State title year of minting 1949 rarely 18 1959 nbsp 10 23 5 mm 1 5 mm 4 5 g 95 copper3 4 zinc1 2 tin Reeded Phoenix Hall Byōdō in state title value Evergreen tree value year of minting 1951 rarely 18 Smooth 1959 nbsp 50 21 mm 1 7 mm 4 g Cupronickel75 copper25 nickel Reeded Chrysanthemum state title value Value year of minting 1967 c nbsp 100 22 6 mm 1 7 mm 4 8 g Cupronickel75 copper25 nickel Reeded Cherry blossoms state title value Value year of minting 1967 d nbsp 500 26 5 mm 1 85 mm 7 2 g Cupronickel75 copper25 nickel Lettered Paulownia state title value Bamboo Mandarin orange Value year of minting 1982 nbsp 500 26 5 mm 2 mm 7 g Nickel brass 72 copper20 zinc8 nickel Reeded slantingly Paulownia state title value Bamboo Mandarin orange Value year of minting 2000 nbsp 500 26 5 mm 1 81 mm 7 1 g Bi metallic 75 copper12 5 zinc12 5 nickel Reeded helically Paulownia state title value Bamboo Mandarin orange Value year of minting 2021These images are to scale at 2 5 pixels per millimetre For table standards see the coin specification table Due to the great differences in style size weight and the pattern present on the edge of the coin they are easy for people with visual impairments to tell apart from one another Unholed HoledSmooth edge 1 light 10 medium 5Reeded edge 100 medium 500 heavy 50Commemorative coins have been minted on various occasions in base metal silver and gold 21 The first of these were silver 100 and 1 000 Summer Olympic coins issued for the 1964 games The largest issuance by denomination and total face value were 10 million gold coins of 100 000 denomination for the 60th anniversary of reign of the Shōwa Emperor in 1986 totalling 1 trillion and utilizing 200 000 kg fine gold 500 commemorative coins have been regularly issued since 1985 In 2008 commemorative 500 and 1 000 coins were issued featuring Japan s 47 prefectures Even though all commemorative coins can be spent like ordinary non commemorative coins they do not normally circulate and 100 000 coins are treated with caution due to the discovery of counterfeits 22 The 1 yen coin is made out of 100 aluminum and can float on water if placed correctly Banknotes edit Main article Banknotes of the Japanese yen The issuance of yen banknotes began in 1872 two years after the currency was introduced Denominations have ranged from 1 yen to 10 000 yen since 1984 the lowest valued banknote is the 1 000 yen note Before and during World War II various bodies issued banknotes in yen such as the Ministry of Finance and the Imperial Japanese National Bank The Allied forces also issued some notes shortly after the war Since then the Bank of Japan has been the exclusive note issuing authority The bank has issued five series after World War II Japan is generally considered a cash based society with 38 of payments in Japan made by cash in 2014 23 Possible explanations are that cash payments protect one s privacy merchants do not have to wait for payment and it does not carry any negative connotation like credit At present portraits of people from the Meiji period and later are printed on Japanese bank notes The reason for this is that from the viewpoint of preventing forgery it is desirable to use a precise photograph as an original rather than a painting for a portrait 24 25 Series E banknotes editSeries E banknotes were introduced in 2004 in 1000 5000 and 10 000 denominations The EURion constellation pattern is present in the designs Image Value Dimensions Main Color Description Series Date of issueObverse Reverse Obverse Reverse nbsp nbsp 1000 150 76 mm Blue Hideyo Noguchi Mount Fuji Lake Motosu and cherry blossoms Series E November 1 2004 nbsp nbsp 2000 154 76 mm Green Shureimon The Tale of Genji and portrait of Murasaki Shikibu Series D July 19 2000 nbsp nbsp 5000 156 76 mm Purple Ichiyō Higuchi Kakitsubata zu Painting of irises a work by Ogata Kōrin Series E November 1 2004 nbsp nbsp 10 000 160 76 mm Brown Fukuzawa Yukichi Statue of hōō phoenix from Byōdō in Temple Series E November 1 2004Series F banknotes edit On April 9 2019 Finance Minister Tarō Asō announced new designs for Series F banknotes 1000 5000 and 10 000 notes for use beginning in July 3 2024 26 The 1000 bill will feature Kitasato Shibasaburō and The Great Wave off Kanagawa the 5000 bill will feature Tsuda Umeko and Wisteria flowers and the 10 000 bill will feature Shibusawa Eiichi and Tokyo Station The Ministry decided to not redesign the 2000 note due to low circulation Series F 2024 scheduled Image Value Dimensions Main Color Description Date of issueObverse Reverse Obverse Reverse nbsp nbsp 1000 150 76 mm Blue Kitasato Shibasaburō The Great Wave off Kanagawa from Thirty six Views of Mount Fuji series by Hokusai July 3 2024 nbsp nbsp 5000 156 76 mm Purple Umeko Tsuda Wisteria flowers nbsp nbsp 10 000 160 76 mm Brown Shibusawa Eiichi Tokyo Station Marunouchi side History editIt has been suggested that this article should be split into a new article titled History of the yen discuss July 2023 Further information Japanese currency Early history 1868 1876 edit nbsp 5 yen coin from 1870 year 3 nbsp 50 sen coin from 1870 year 3 Although the Edo Shogunate collapsed with the Meiji Restoration and a new government was born the monetary system still took over that of the former entity During this unstable period the confusion caused by this form of exchange caused economic turmoil 27 The gold counting money system of eastern Japan and the silver weighing money system of the western Japan were not unified and the difference in the gold silver ratio caused a large amount of gold to flow overseas at the end of the Tokugawa shogunate Emperor Meiji responded to this by appointing Ōkuma Shigenobu as head of Japan s monetary reform program He worked with Inoue Kaoru Itō Hirobumi and Shibusawa Eiichi to run the Ministry of Finance seeking to introduce a modern monetary system into Japan Ōkuma eventually proposed that coins which were previously square be made into circles and that the names of the traditional currencies ryō 両 bu 分 and shu 朱 be unified into yen 円 which was accepted by the government 28 Other rejected proposals included physical weight units of Fun and Momme which never made it past the pattern stage 29 30 31 The first gold yen coins consisted of 2 5 and 20 yen coins which were struck throughout 1870 Five yen coins were first struck in gold for the Japanese government in 1870 at the San Francisco Mint 32 During this time a new mint was being established at Osaka which did not receive the gold bullion needed for coinage until the following year 33 Gold bullion was delivered from private Japanese citizens foreigners and the Japanese government 34 Initially the government opted for silver which would become the standard unit of value leaving gold coinage as a subsidiary 35 While gold coinage couldn t be produced domestically in 1870 the mint at Osaka could produce silver coins which included denominations of 5 10 20 and 50 sen 36 37 None of these coins dated 1870 circulated until the Meiji government officially adopted the yen as Japan s modern unit of currency on June 27 1871 38 This Act formally stipulated the adoption of the decimal accounting system of yen 1 圓 sen 1 100 錢 and rin 1 1000 厘 The new currency was gradually introduced beginning from July of that year Japanese yen denominated paper currency was also conceived with the coins in 1870 as Meiji Tsuho notes by Italian engraver Edoardo Chiossone 39 These were released as fiat currency in denominations of 1 2 5 10 50 and 100 yen along with subsidiary notes of 10 20 and 50 sen in 1872 Almost concurrently the government established a series of national banks modeled after the system in the United States which issued national bank notes Satsuma Rebellion and aftermath 1877 1887 edit Massive inflation from the Satsuma Rebellion in 1877 caused a glut of non redeemable fiat currency notes The issuance of national fiat banknotes was ultimately suspended in 1880 by then prime minister Matsukata Masayoshi 40 41 New policies were put into place which included the establishment of a centralized banking system 42 41 The Bank of Japan hence commenced operations on October 10 1882 with the authority to print banknotes that could be exchanged for the old Government and National Bank Notes 43 44 By May 1883 another act provided the redemption and retirement of national bank notes 45 46 The National Bank Act was amended again in March 1896 providing for the dissolution of the national banks on the expiration of their charters 45 This amendment also prohibited national bank notes from circulating after December 31 1899 47 In that year Japan adopted a gold exchange standard defining the yen as 0 75 g fine gold or US 0 4985 48 This exchange rate remained in place until Japan left the gold standard in December 1931 after which the yen fell to 0 30 by July 1932 and to 0 20 by 1933 49 It remained steady at around 0 30 until the start of the Pacific War on December 7 1941 at which time it fell to 0 23 50 The sen and the rin were eventually taken out of circulation at the end of 1953 51 Fixed value of the yen to the U S dollar edit No true exchange rate existed for the yen between December 7 1941 and April 25 1949 wartime inflation reduced the yen to a fraction of its prewar value After a period of instability on April 25 1949 the U S occupation government fixed the value of the yen at 360 per USD through a United States plan which was part of the Bretton Woods system to stabilize prices in the Japanese economy 52 That exchange rate was maintained until 1971 when the United States abandoned the gold standard ending a key element of the Bretton Woods system and setting in motion changes that eventually led to floating exchange rates in 1973 Yen and major currencies float edit By 1971 the yen had become undervalued Japanese exports were costing too little in international markets and imports from abroad were costing the Japanese too much This undervaluation was reflected in the current account balance which had risen from the deficits of the early 1960s to a then large surplus of US 5 8 billion in 1971 The belief that the yen and several other major currencies were undervalued motivated the United States actions in 1971 Following the United States measures to devalue the dollar in the summer of 1971 the Japanese government agreed to a new fixed exchange rate as part of the Smithsonian Agreement signed at the end of the year This agreement set the exchange rate at 308 per US However the new fixed rates of the Smithsonian Agreement were difficult to maintain in the face of supply and demand pressures in the foreign exchange market In early 1973 the rates were abandoned and the major nations of the world allowed their currencies to float Yen adoption in Okinawa edit After World War II the United States administered Okinawa issued a higher valued currency called the B yen from 1946 to 1958 which was then replaced by the U S dollar at the rate of 1 120 B yen Upon the reversion of Okinawa to Japan in 1972 the Japanese yen then replaced the dollar In light of the dollar s reduction in value from 360 to 308 just before the reversion an unannounced currency confirmation took place on October 9 1971 wherein residents disclosed their dollar holdings in cash and bank accounts dollars held that day amounting to US 60 million were entitled for conversion in 1972 at a higher rate of 360 53 Japanese government intervention in the currency market edit In the 1970s Japanese government and business people were very concerned that a rise in the value of the yen would hurt export growth by making Japanese products less competitive and would damage the industrial base The government therefore continued to intervene heavily in foreign exchange marketing buying or selling dollars even after the 1973 decision to allow the yen to float 54 Despite intervention market pressures caused the yen to continue climbing in value peaking temporarily at an average of 271 per US in 1973 before the impact of the 1973 oil crisis was felt The increased costs of imported oil caused the yen to depreciate to a range of 290 per US to 300 per US between 1974 and 1976 The re emergence of trade surpluses drove the yen back up to 211 in 1978 This currency strengthening was again reversed by the second oil shock in 1979 with the yen dropping to 227 per US by 1980 54 Yen in the early 1980s edit During the first half of the 1980s the yen failed to rise in value though current account surpluses returned and grew quickly From 221 per US in 1981 the average value of the yen actually dropped to 239 per US in 1985 The rise in the current account surplus generated stronger demand for yen in foreign exchange markets but this trade related demand for yen was offset by other factors A wide differential in interest rates with United States interest rates much higher than those in Japan and the continuing moves to deregulate the international flow of capital led to a large net outflow of capital from Japan This capital flow increased the supply of yen in foreign exchange markets as Japanese investors changed their yen for other currencies mainly dollars to invest overseas This kept the yen weak relative to the dollar and fostered the rapid rise in the Japanese trade surplus that took place in the 1980s Effect of the Plaza Accord edit nbsp nbsp JPY nominal and real effective exchange rates 2005 100 In 1985 a dramatic change began Finance officials from major nations signed an agreement the Plaza Accord affirming that the dollar was overvalued and therefore the yen undervalued This agreement and shifting supply and demand pressures in the markets led to a rapid rise in the value of the yen From its average of 239 per US in 1985 the yen rose to a peak of 128 in 1988 virtually doubling its value relative to the dollar After declining somewhat in 1989 and 1990 it reached a new high of 123 to US in December 1992 In April 1995 the yen hit a peak of under 80 yen US temporarily making Japan s economy nearly the size of that of the US 55 Post bubble years edit The yen declined during the Japanese asset price bubble and continued to do so afterwards reaching a low of 134 to US in February 2002 The Bank of Japan s policy of zero interest rates has discouraged yen investments with the carry trade of investors borrowing yen and investing in better paying currencies thus further pushing down the yen estimated to be as large as 1 trillion 56 In February 2007 The Economist estimated that the yen was 15 undervalued against the dollar and as much as 40 undervalued against the euro 57 After the global economic crisis of 2008 edit nbsp Comparison of the GNP weighted nominal exchange rates CHF and JPY versus CNY EUR USD and GBPHowever this trend of depreciation reversed after the global economic crisis of 2008 Other major currencies except the Swiss franc have been declining relative to the yen On April 4 2013 the Bank of Japan announced that they would expand their asset purchase program by 1 4 trillion in two years The Bank of Japan hopes to bring Japan from deflation to inflation aiming for 2 inflation The number of purchases is so large that it is expected to double the money supply but this move has sparked concerns that the authorities in Japan are deliberately devaluing the yen to boost exports 58 However the commercial sector in Japan worried that the devaluation would trigger an increase in import prices especially for energy and raw materials Redenomination proposals edit Numerous proposals have been made since the 1990s to redenominate the yen by introducing a new unit or new yen equal to 100 yen and nearly worth one U S dollar This has not happened to date since the yen remains trusted globally despite its low unit value and due to the huge costs of reissuing new currency and updating currency reading hardware The negative impact of postponing upgrades to various computer software until redenomination occurs in particular was also cited 59 Determinants of value editMost traded currencies by valueCurrency distribution of global foreign exchange market turnover 60 vte Rank Currency ISO 4217code Symbol orabbreviation Proportion of daily volumeApril 2019 April 20221 U S dollar USD US 88 3 88 5 2 Euro EUR 32 3 30 5 3 Japanese yen JPY 円 16 8 16 7 4 Sterling GBP 12 8 12 9 5 Renminbi CNY 元 4 3 7 0 6 Australian dollar AUD A 6 8 6 4 7 Canadian dollar CAD C 5 0 6 2 8 Swiss franc CHF CHF 4 9 5 2 9 Hong Kong dollar HKD HK 3 5 2 6 10 Singapore dollar SGD S 1 8 2 4 11 Swedish krona SEK kr 2 0 2 2 12 South Korean won KRW 원 2 0 1 9 13 Norwegian krone NOK kr 1 8 1 7 14 New Zealand dollar NZD NZ 2 1 1 7 15 Indian rupee INR 1 7 1 6 16 Mexican peso MXN 1 7 1 5 17 New Taiwan dollar TWD NT 0 9 1 1 18 South African rand ZAR R 1 1 1 0 19 Brazilian real BRL R 1 1 0 9 20 Danish krone DKK kr 0 6 0 7 21 Polish zloty PLN zl 0 6 0 7 22 Thai baht THB 0 5 0 4 23 Israeli new shekel ILS 0 3 0 4 24 Indonesian rupiah IDR Rp 0 4 0 4 25 Czech koruna CZK Kc 0 4 0 4 26 UAE dirham AED د إ 0 2 0 4 27 Turkish lira TRY 1 1 0 4 28 Hungarian forint HUF Ft 0 4 0 3 29 Chilean peso CLP CLP 0 3 0 3 30 Saudi riyal SAR 0 2 0 2 31 Philippine peso PHP 0 3 0 2 32 Malaysian ringgit MYR RM 0 2 0 2 33 Colombian peso COP COL 0 2 0 2 34 Russian ruble RUB 1 1 0 2 35 Romanian leu RON L 0 1 0 1 36 Peruvian sol PEN S 0 1 0 1 37 Bahraini dinar BHD د ب 0 0 0 0 38 Bulgarian lev BGN BGN 0 0 0 0 39 Argentine peso ARS ARG 0 1 0 0 Other 1 8 2 3 Total note 1 200 0 200 0 The total sum is 200 because each currency trade is counted twice once for the currency being bought and once for the one being sold The percentages above represent the proportion of all trades involving a given currency regardless of which side of the transaction it is on For example the US dollar is bought or sold in 88 of all currency trades while the euro is bought or sold in 31 of all trades Beginning in December 1931 Japan gradually shifted from the gold standard system to the managed currency system 61 The relative value of the yen is determined in foreign exchange markets by the economic forces of supply and demand The supply of the yen in the market is governed by the desire of yen holders to exchange their yen for other currencies to purchase goods services or assets The demand for the yen is governed by the desire of foreigners to buy goods and services in Japan and by their interest in investing in Japan buying yen denominated real and financial assets Since the 1990s the Bank of Japan the country s central bank has kept interest rates low to spur economic growth Short term lending rates have responded to this monetary relaxation and fell from 3 7 to 1 3 between 1993 and 2008 62 Low interest rates combined with a ready liquidity for the yen prompted investors to borrow money in Japan and invest it in other countries a practice known as carry trade This has helped to keep the value of the yen low compared to other currencies citation needed International reserve currency editMain article reserve currency The special drawing rights SDR valuation is an IMF basket of the world s major reserve currencies including the Japanese yen Its share of 8 33 as of 2016 has declined from 18 as of 2000 63 The percental composition of currencies of official foreign exchange reserves from 1995 to 2022 64 65 66 Graphs are unavailable due to technical issues There is more info on Phabricator and on MediaWiki org US dollar Euro German mark French franc Sterling Japanese yen Renminbi OthervteHistorical exchange rate editBefore the war commenced the yen traded on an average of 3 6 yen to the dollar After the war the yen went as low as 600 yen per USD in 1947 as a result of currency overprinting in order to fund the war and afterwards to fund the reconstruction When MacArthur and the US forces entered Japan in 1945 they decreed an official conversion rate of 15 yen to the USD Within 1945 1946 the rate tanked to 50 yen to the USD because of the ongoing inflation During the first half of 1946 the rate fluctuated to 66 yen to the USD and eventually plummeting to 600 yen to the dollar by 1947 because of the failure of the economic remedies Eventually the peg was officially moved to 270 yen to the dollar in 1948 before being adjusted again from 1949 to 1971 to 360 yen to the dollar Beginning in 2022 the Yen rate has become increasingly weaker with each passing month As a result the yen fell to the 151 yen level against the US dollar marking the first depreciation of the yen in 32 years on a nominal effective exchange rate and the first depreciation on a real effective exchange rate in 52 years The reasoning behind this is the US moving towards higher interest rates while Japan remains ultra low Other factors include the strength of the US economy and its labor market while Japan continues to lag behind its peers to bring its economy back to its pre pandemic size Japan s trade balance staying in the red is also likely feeding into the weaker yen 6 Interviewed by Asahi Shimbun Digital in September 2022 Izuru Kato chief economist at Totan Research expressed concern about the sharp fall in its value since 2022 7 and Moneypost reported that the exchange rate instability had made it impossible to exchange the currency for Japanese yen at some exchange offices 67 With the rate returning to 150 in November 2023 concern deepened as Nikkei sources expected the yen to depreciate further in the future 68 The Economist London expressed concern over the performance of the Bank of Japan suggested that a systemic risk is posed to the world financial system 8 Average spot rates v USD edit The table below shows the monthly average of the U S dollar yen spot rate JPY per USD at 17 00 JST 69 70 71 Year MonthJan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec1949 1971 3601972 3081973 301 15 270 00 265 83 265 50 264 95 265 30 263 45 265 30 265 70 266 68 279 00 280 001974 299 00 287 60 276 00 279 75 281 90 284 10 297 80 302 70 298 50 299 85 300 10 300 951975 297 85 286 60 293 80 293 30 291 35 296 35 297 35 297 90 302 70 301 80 303 00 305 151976 303 70 302 25 299 70 299 40 299 95 297 40 293 40 288 76 287 30 293 70 296 45 293 001977 288 25 283 25 277 30 277 50 277 30 266 50 266 30 267 43 264 50 250 65 244 20 240 001978 241 74 238 83 223 40 223 90 223 15 204 50 190 80 190 00 189 15 176 05 197 80 195 101979 201 40 202 35 209 30 219 15 219 70 217 00 216 90 220 05 223 45 237 80 249 50 239 901980 237 73 244 07 248 61 251 45 228 06 218 11 220 91 224 34 214 95 209 21 212 99 209 791981 202 19 205 76 208 84 215 07 220 78 224 21 232 11 233 62 229 83 231 40 223 76 219 021982 224 55 235 25 240 64 244 90 236 97 251 11 255 10 258 67 262 74 271 33 265 02 242 491983 232 90 236 27 237 92 237 70 234 78 240 06 240 49 244 36 242 71 233 00 235 25 234 341984 233 95 233 67 225 52 224 95 230 67 233 29 242 72 242 24 245 19 246 89 243 29 247 961985 254 11 260 34 258 43 251 67 251 57 248 95 241 70 237 20 236 91 214 84 203 85 202 751986 200 05 184 62 178 83 175 56 166 89 167 82 158 65 154 11 154 78 156 04 162 72 162 131987 154 48 153 49 151 56 142 96 140 47 144 52 150 20 147 57 143 03 143 48 135 25 128 251988 127 44 129 26 127 23 124 88 124 74 127 20 133 10 133 63 134 45 128 85 123 16 123 631989 127 24 127 77 130 35 132 01 138 40 143 92 140 63 141 20 145 06 141 99 143 55 143 621990 145 09 145 54 153 19 158 50 153 52 153 78 149 23 147 46 138 96 129 73 129 01 133 721991 133 65 130 44 137 09 137 15 138 02 139 83 137 98 136 85 134 59 130 81 129 64 128 071992 125 05 127 53 132 75 133 59 130 55 126 90 125 66 126 34 122 72 121 14 123 84 123 981993 125 02 120 97 117 02 112 37 110 23 107 29 107 77 103 72 105 27 106 94 107 81 109 721994 111 49 106 14 105 12 103 48 104 00 102 69 0 98 54 0 99 86 0 98 79 0 98 40 0 98 00 100 171995 0 99 79 0 98 23 0 90 77 0 83 53 0 85 21 0 84 54 0 87 24 0 94 56 100 31 100 68 101 89 101 861996 105 81 105 70 105 85 107 40 106 49 108 82 109 25 107 84 109 76 112 30 112 27 113 741997 118 18 123 01 122 66 125 47 118 91 114 31 115 10 117 89 120 74 121 13 125 35 129 521998 129 45 125 85 128 83 131 81 135 08 140 35 140 66 144 76 134 50 121 33 120 61 117 401999 113 14 116 73 119 71 119 66 122 14 120 81 119 76 113 30 107 45 106 00 104 83 102 612000 105 21 109 34 106 62 105 35 108 13 106 13 107 90 108 02 106 75 108 34 108 87 112 212001 117 10 116 10 121 21 123 77 121 83 122 19 124 63 121 53 118 91 121 32 122 33 127 322002 132 66 133 53 131 15 131 01 126 39 123 44 118 08 119 03 120 49 123 88 121 54 122 172003 118 67 119 29 118 49 119 82 117 26 118 27 118 65 118 81 115 09 109 58 109 18 107 872004 106 39 106 54 108 57 107 31 112 27 109 45 109 34 110 41 110 05 108 90 104 86 103 822005 103 27 104 84 105 30 107 35 106 94 108 62 111 94 110 65 111 03 114 84 118 45 118 602006 115 33 117 81 117 31 117 13 111 53 114 57 115 59 115 86 117 02 118 59 117 33 117 262007 120 59 120 49 117 29 118 81 120 77 122 64 121 56 116 74 115 01 115 77 111 24 112 282008 107 60 107 18 100 83 102 41 104 11 106 86 106 76 109 24 106 71 100 20 0 96 89 0 91 212009 0 90 35 0 92 53 0 97 83 0 98 92 0 96 43 0 96 58 0 94 49 0 94 90 0 91 40 0 90 28 0 89 11 0 89 522010 0 91 26 0 90 28 0 90 56 0 93 43 0 91 79 0 90 89 0 87 67 0 85 44 0 84 31 0 81 80 0 82 43 0 83 382011 0 82 63 0 82 52 0 81 82 0 83 34 0 81 23 0 80 49 0 79 44 0 77 09 0 76 78 0 76 72 0 77 50 0 77 812012 0 76 94 0 78 47 0 82 37 0 81 42 0 79 70 0 79 27 0 78 96 0 78 68 0 78 17 0 78 97 0 80 92 0 83 602013 0 89 15 0 93 07 0 94 73 0 97 74 101 01 0 97 52 0 99 66 0 97 83 0 99 30 0 97 73 100 04 103 422014 103 94 102 02 102 30 102 54 101 78 102 05 101 73 102 95 107 16 108 03 116 24 119 292015 118 25 118 59 120 37 119 57 120 82 123 7 123 31 123 17 120 13 119 99 122 58 121 782016 118 18 115 01 113 05 109 72 109 24 105 44 103 97 101 28 101 99 103 81 108 33 116 012017 114 69 113 13 113 02 110 08 112 24 110 89 112 50 109 90 110 67 112 94 112 89 112 962018 110 74 107 90 106 01 107 49 109 74 110 02 111 41 111 06 111 91 112 81 113 36 112 382019 108 97 110 36 111 22 111 63 109 76 108 07 108 23 106 34 107 40 108 12 108 88 109 182020 109 38 109 96 107 67 107 83 107 23 107 64 106 76 106 00 105 61 105 21 104 30 103 752021 103 79 105 44 108 81 109 10 109 17 110 12 110 26 109 85 110 15 113 14 113 99 113 842022 114 84 115 24 118 67 126 31 128 82 134 10 136 39 135 28 143 09 147 16 142 17 134 852023 130 28 132 69 133 86 133 40 137 39 141 33 141 20 144 73 147 65 149 59Year Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov DecMonth nbsp JPY USD exchange rate since 1950 nbsp JPY USD exchange rate in the Heisei and Reiwa eras nbsp JPY CAD exchange rate nbsp JPY EUR exchange rate nbsp JPY GBP exchange rate nbsp JPY CHF exchange rate nbsp JPY AUD exchange rate nbsp JPY NZD exchange rate nbsp JPY ZAR exchange rate nbsp JPY CNY exchange rate nbsp KRW JPY exchange rate nbsp JPY INR exchange rate Current JPY exchange ratesFrom Google Finance AUD CAD CHF CNY EUR GBP HKD USD KRW EUR USDFrom Yahoo Finance AUD CAD CHF CNY EUR GBP HKD USD KRW EUR USDFrom XE com AUD CAD CHF CNY EUR GBP HKD USD KRW EUR USDFrom OANDA AUD CAD CHF CNY EUR GBP HKD USD KRW EUR USDSee also editJapan Mint Japanese military currency Economy of Japan Capital flows in Japan Monetary and fiscal policy of Japan Balance of payments accounts of Japan 1960 90 List of countries by leading trade partners List of the largest trading partners of Japan Korean Empire won 1902 1910 Older currency edit Japanese mon currency Koban coin Ryō Japanese coin WadōkaichinNotes edit 元 yuan is not a simplified form of 圆 圓 yuan but a completely different character One of the reasons for replacements is said to be that the previous character had too many strokes 9 Both characters have the same pronunciation in Mandarin but not in Japanese In 1695 certain Japanese coins were issued whose surface has the character gen 元 but this is an abbreviation of the era name Genroku 元禄 It is known that in ancient Japanese there were distinct syllables e we je From middle of the 10th century e え had merged with je and both were pronounced je while a kana for je had disappeared Around the 13th century we ゑ and e ceased to be distinguished in pronunciation but not in writing system and both came to be pronounced je 10 Previously minted pure nickel 50 yen coins dated between 1955 and 1966 are still legal tender 18 These are rarely seen in circulation due to the price of nickel bullion 19 Previously minted 100 yen silver coins dated between 1957 and 1966 are still legal tender 18 Silver was dropped from the coinage in 1967 which led to coin hoarding and silver smuggling outside of the country for melting 20 In light of this and their changed design its unclear if these coins still circulate today References editCitations edit Statistics Bureau Home Page Consumer Price Index Stat go jp Archived from the original on August 15 2022 Retrieved August 28 2022 Foreign exchange turnover in April 2013 preliminary global results PDF Bank for International Settlements Archived PDF from the original on November 6 2021 Retrieved February 7 2015 Mitsura Misawa 2007 Cases on International Business and Finance in Japanese Corporations Hong Kong University Press p 152 ECONOMIC SUPERPOWERS AT ODDS As Yen rises Japanese and U S GDPs Go Head to Head A forecast that Japan s economy will surpass America s by 2000 almost came true on April 19 Los Angeles Times May 8 1995 Archived from the original on December 20 2021 Retrieved February 3 2021 History of Japanese Yen Currency History August 24 2014 Archived from the original on December 14 2021 Retrieved July 12 2016 a b Why Japan s Yen Is the Weakest in 20 Years and What That Means Bloomberg News June 10 2022 Archived from the original on August 14 2022 Retrieved August 10 2022 a b 日本円が ジャンク通貨 に ロシアや新興国通貨よりも価値下落 朝日新聞デジタル Will the Japanese yen become a junk currency Decrease in value compared to Russian and emerging market currencies 朝日新聞デジタル in Japanese September 2 2022 Retrieved November 15 2023 a b How Japan poses a threat to the global financial system The Economist November 2 2023 a b Ryuzo Mikami ja an article about the yen in Heibonsha World Encyclopedia Kato Shuichi ed Vol 3 Tokyo Heibonsha 2007 S Hashimoto 1950 国語音韻の変遷 The History of Japanese Phonology in Japanese Tokyo Iwanami Shoten Archived from the original on March 7 2017 Retrieved March 29 2012 Medhurst 1830 p 296 Hepburn 1867 明治学院大学図書館 和英語林集成デジタルアーカイブス www meijigakuin ac jp Archived from the original on October 30 2013 Retrieved December 29 2009 明治学院大学図書館 和英語林集成デジタルアーカイブス in Japanese Meijigakuin ac jp Archived from the original on December 16 2013 Retrieved June 12 2016 MacKay James 2006 The Complete Illustrated Guide to Coins amp Coin Collecting Anness Publishing Ltd p 226 Japan Mint Number of Coin Production calendar year Archived from the original on November 10 2006 Retrieved September 7 2006 Operations Coins Presently Minted Japan Mint Archived from the original on March 23 2023 Retrieved December 8 2022 a b c d その他有効な銀行券 貨幣 in Japanese Bank of Japan Archived from the original on June 16 2023 Retrieved June 15 2023 Why the 50 yen coin has a hole and other fun facts about Japanese coins Japan Today December 1 2013 Archived from the original on September 15 2020 Retrieved April 13 2020 Andrew Williams 2017 History of Digital Games Developments in Art Design and Interaction CRC Press p 75 ISBN 9781317503811 Japan Mint Commemorative Coins issued up to now Archived from the original on November 9 2006 Retrieved September 7 2006 Sanger David E February 8 1990 Fake Coins Embarrass The Japanese The New York Times ISSN 0362 4331 Archived from the original on June 26 2022 Retrieved February 20 2023 Soble Jonathan February 28 2014 Cash remains king in Japan Financial Times Archived from 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November 7 2007 Retrieved December 26 2007 Bank of Japan Statistics Archived October 14 2008 at the Wayback Machine 2008 IMF Launches New SDR Basket Including Chinese Renminbi Determines New Currency Amounts IMF September 30 2016 Archived from the original on July 27 2019 Retrieved July 10 2019 For 1995 99 2006 22 Currency Composition of Official Foreign Exchange Reserves COFER Washington DC International Monetary Fund April 3 2023 For 1999 2005 International Relations Committee Task Force on Accumulation of Foreign Reserves February 2006 The Accumulation of Foreign Reserves PDF Occasional Paper Series Nr 43 Frankfurt am Main European Central Bank ISSN 1607 1484 ISSN 1725 6534 online Review of the International Role of the Euro PDF Frankfurt am Main European Central Bank December 2005 ISSN 1725 2210 ISSN 1725 6593 online 円安で日本円は ジャンク通貨 になった 海外両替所に日本円の表示がないことも The depreciation of the yen has turned the Japanese yen into a junk currency Overseas currency exchange offices may not display Japanese yen マネーポストWEB in Japanese August 25 2022 Retrieved November 15 2023 ドル円相場 円弱 1ドル150円 理由は金利差だけじゃない Weak yen at 150 yen to the dollar The reason is not just the interest rate difference 日本経済新聞 in Japanese November 13 2023 Retrieved November 15 2023 Bank of Japan Foreign Exchange Rates 2006 Archived June 17 2008 at the Wayback Machine Bank of Japan US Dollar Yen Spot Rate at 17 00 in JST Average in the Month Tokyo Market Archived June 3 2013 at the Wayback Machine for duration January 1980 September 2010 Retrieved February 10 2016 US Dollar to Japanese Yen Spot Exchange Rates for 2021 www exchangerates org uk Archived from the original on October 6 2022 Retrieved August 10 2022 Sources edit nbsp This article incorporates text from this source which is in the public domain Japan A Country Study Federal Research Division Further reading editMedhurst Walter 1830 An English and Japanese and Japanese and English Vocabulary Compiled from Native Works Batavia Dutch East Indies OCLC 5452087 OL 23422004M Hepburn James Curtis 1867 A Japanese and English Dictionary Shanghai American Presbyterian Mission Press OCLC 32634467 OL 13132016W Siyun sai Rin siyo Hayashi Gahō 1834 1652 Nipon o dai itsi ran ou Annales des empereurs du Japon Translated by Titsingh Isaac Klaproth Julius von Paris Oriental Translation Society of Great Britain and Ireland OCLC 5850691 External links edit nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to 日本円 nbsp Look up JPY JP JP円 or 円 in Wiktionary the free dictionary Japanese currency FAQ in Currency Museum Bank of Japan Images of historic and modern Japanese bank notes Catalog of the coins of Japan Numista Chart US dollar in yen in German Chart 100 yen in euros in German Historical Currency Converter Estimates the historical value of the yen into other currencies Preceded by Japanese mon Currency of Japan 1870 Succeeded by Current Portals nbsp Asia nbsp Japan nbsp Money nbsp Numismatics Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Japanese 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