Japanese consumers enjoy benefits of strong yen

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Dogdog at 11:58 AM JST - 20th December

But the Japanese whilst enjoying cheap imports won't sell any of their now over priced good will they?

Don't worry about that, Japan will get around that one with unfair trade practices such as invisible government subsidies for exports or subsidising the price of an export good by pricing the same good at twice the price for the domestic market.

Japan Inc is far from finished.
cleo at 12:27 PM JST - 20th December

Good-quality Scotch is still cheap at Yamaya, and, joy oh joy, they also had a good selection of sherries at a third the price that used to be gouged out of me when I would finally track down that one dusty bottle hiding at the back of the 'We can't sell this stuff, no wonder at these prices' shelf at my local sake-shop.

Cheers, all.
YuriOtani at 01:04 PM JST - 20th December

Wondrous the home front is happy! It is pure hell for Japanese firms operating overseas. With the increase value of the yen there is not a lot of value to bring home and this is before the American recession. The strong yen is bound to bring on a long dark recession possible depression in Japan! Think of it this way the value of our overseas assets is going down. This does not help the balance sheet at all. Things look good for the Japanese consumer now but there is a very dark side to this! I think that deflation is going to the new concern. The money supply in Japan is going to shrink so get drunk now! The check for the party is on it way! It has happened before and will happen again.
Suzu1 at 01:59 PM JST - 20th December

Enjoy it while it lasts. The Japanese government will likely stage an intervention in the currency markets over the holidays while trading is thin.
30061015 at 02:00 PM JST - 20th December

YuriOtani> "The money supply in Japan is going to shrink so get drunk now!"

Yuri...chill dude:) I mean, go get drunk on all that ￥asui wine if you want, but Govts can ALWAYS tax, spend and inflate the money supply till the cows come home...its what they do best.
borscht at 02:03 PM JST - 20th December

“strong yen sales” on imported food.

Is this the same food the consumers were refusing to buy a few weeks ago because only Japanese food was 'safety food'?
mareo2 at 02:38 PM JST - 20th December

Hmmm.... for export growth an Asian common currency like the Euro can benefit J, because is likely to be a lot weaker than the yen. The other option is currency devaluation, but is not very popular with the voters.
elbudamexicano at 07:25 PM JST - 20th December

I still think the Japanese Yen will go from it's current 94-93 Yen to 1 USD, to hopefully somewhere in the 70 Yen to 1 USD, god I love my Japanese salary!
billclinton at 08:47 PM JST - 20th December

“It’s so low right now, I’m doing it as an investment, though I’m not telling my husband,” said Ouka as she ate lunch with her young daughter at a restaurant in Tokyo.

Thats because her husband probably works for a bank or Nomura.
GW at 11:49 PM JST - 20th December

McCraken

the husband probably only reads manga so no problem
Pukey2 at 12:56 AM JST - 21st December

god I love my Japanese salary!

Me too! It gets converted to my home currency, and sent home to earn interest.
HeathenCabin at 02:09 AM JST - 22nd December

Have no fear, as the Japanese government has decreed that a strong yen is not in the interest of Dear Leader Taro Aso. So Japan will keep printing with the japanese printing press, until the currency loses all value. Keep in mind most people are only looking at the value to other currencies on the world market. Other countries have also printed alot of money.
Scrote at 11:05 AM JST - 22nd December

I'm selling Yen as fast as I earn them. The current exchange rates won't last much longer. Probably.
natosucks at 08:48 AM JST - 23rd December

Buy & spend all your money!, thats good 4 the economy....
kokuryu at 09:02 AM JST - 23rd December

This article says people are enjoying the strong yen. Yet another article says the strong yen is destroying Japan's economy. Personally I believe the latter is the case. Japan has long relied upon exports of its goods for their economy. With the strong yen, however, Japan's money is instead of reaching Japanese companies, now flowing out to foreign countries and being diluted into the world market. The strong yen also makes Japan's goods more expensive to purchase overseas, so exports and sales of Japanese made goods are sinking to an all time low worldwide. All this does not bode well for Japan.