Japanese Yen

Overview

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. The Japanese Yen is also widely used as a reserve currency after the US Dollar, Euro, and British Pound.

Economy

• Japan has a strong industrial base and is home to some of the biggest and most technologically advanced producers of motor vehicles, electronics, machinery, steel and nonferrous metals, ships, chemicals, textiles, and processed foods.
• Agricultural enterprises use 13 per cent of the land, and Japan accounts for nearly 15 percent of the global fish catch, second only to China.
• As of 2010, Japan’s labor force consisted of about 65.9 million workers. Japan has a low unemployment rate of around 4%.
• In 2007 almost one in six, or 20 million, Japanese people were living in poverty.
• Housing in Japan is subject to the limited supply of available land in urban areas.

History

• The Japanese Yen was officially adopted by the Meiji government on May 10, 1871. The new currency was gradually introduced from July of that year.
• The Tokugawa Japanese Yen currency replaced a complex monetary system of the Edo period based on the mon.
• The yen, basically a unit of the United States Dollar, originated like all Dollars from Spanish pieces of eight.