The Japanese yen is the official currency of Japan and the third most traded currency globally. It is widely used as a reserve currency after the U.S. dollar, euro, and pound sterling. The yen has strengthened recently due to Japan avoiding losses from the subprime crisis, capital inflows to Japan, and its status as a safe haven currency. However, a strong yen hurts Japanese exports, which the economy relies on significantly. Japan focuses on manufacturing high-tech goods and has had economic expansion driven by exports, but may now be facing recession as exports fall.

1. Current status
of Japanese currency
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Hiroki Sato

2. What Japanese yen
The Japanese yen is the official currency of
Japan.
It is the third most traded currency in the
foreign exchange market after the United
States dollar and the euro.
It is also widely used as a reserve currency
after the U.S. dollar, the euro and the pound
sterling.

3. Why is the Japanese yen so strong
First, leaving the Bank of Japan in relatively
good shape, then Japan was not incur
significant losses from the subprime crisis.
Second, to create a large-scale capital
inflows to Japan, Japanese investors are
deleveraging their overseas investment.
Third, the yen is now seen as a currency
"safe haven."

4. Why is the Japanese yen so strong
(2)
When trading against the dollar, the yen
reached a thirteen and a half year high.
It reached a seven year high against the
euro.
The downside of the yen's strength
is that it is hurting Japanese exports.
There is talk in Japanese banking circles
that the Bank of Japan may intervene to
curb the rise of the yen.

5. Japanese Export Economy
The strong yen eventually started to concern
the Japanese government as that economy
is based on exports and is impacted by
currency rate fluctuations, with exporters
hurt when the yen rises in value against
other currencies.

6. Japanese economic
Japan has the largest electronics
goods industry is the world's third largest
car producing country.
Japan is among the most innovative
country in the world to lead several
measures of global patent application.

7. Japanese economic(2)
Facing increasing competition from China
and South Korea, manufacturing in Japan
today now focuses primarily on high-tech
and precision goods, such as optical
equipment, hybrid cars, and robotics.

8. Japanese economic(3)
However, the rate of economic growth,
indicating that the encourage to spend them
boost to growth from the increase in
exports, may start to filter down to
consumers in the home.

9. Japanese current economic
After six years of economic expansion
Japan may now be in full-blown recession.
The expansion was driven by exports, which
are now falling to America and to Europe
Japan's carmakers' shipments to America
have fallen by nearly a third.

10. References
⇨ http://forum.gaijinpot.com/showthrea
d.php?116799-The-Japanese-yen-why-is-
it-so-strong
⇨ http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/10129885
⇨ http://www.economist.com/node/1234252
5
⇨ http://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E6%97%A
5%E6%9C%AC%E3%81%AE%E7%B5%8C%E6%B8%88