the massive inflation in Japan

[scorpioncapital]

Google says that $1 is 80 yen. That's an 80:1 ratio. Many major currencies don't have such a huge conversion of nominal figures.

 

Does this mean that even after 20 years of deflation, Japan must have had a massive inflation before that?

 

[Liberty]

Google says that $1 is 80 yen. That's an 80:1 ratio. Many major currencies don't have such a huge conversion of nominal figures.

 

Does this mean that even after 20 years of deflation, Japan must have had a massive inflation before that?

 

I'm just taking guesses here as I don't know much about currencies, but isn't any starting point kind of arbitrary? I'd say that on average currencies with very high multiples to most other currencies probably had high inflation, but I don't see why it would have to be so. A currency could be created at a value of 1 million to 1 dollar yet be inflated less rapidly than the dollar from that point on.

 

In other words: It's possible you are correct, but not for reasons that can be discovered just by looking at the conversion rate.

 

Just my guess, though.

[Vish_ram]

I guess you have put this title in jest

 

see this long term chart,

 

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/df/JPY-USD_1950-.svg

 

Japan with its industrial prowess, frugality & innovation has been having an appreciating currency for last 50 years. maybe all good things will come to an end.

 

Google says that $1 is 80 yen. That's an 80:1 ratio. Many major currencies don't have such a huge conversion of nominal figures.

 

Does this mean that even after 20 years of deflation, Japan must have had a massive inflation before that?

[scorpioncapital]

Interesting, so perhaps the massive inflation came during WWII?

[keerthiprasad]

agree that this is mostly arbitrary...maybe they don't like decimals? 

 

I do not know too much about currencies either, but find the appreciation of the yen in the last few years very interesting.  Its a process that definitely needs to reverse itself.  I recently read that the yen had appreciated something like 50% against the Dollar and Won in the last 5 years.

[Alekbaylee]

Not that I know much about this, but I think it's principally due to the fact that most of its debt is owned by Japanese citizens and companies (not much outside).