High anxiety in S Korea as won surges against yen

Forcing the currency up to 120 yen. This is the ideal exchange rates for Japanese exporters.

i think a 100 yen-$1 exchange is good. Stability is the key. It allows for accurate budget/profit forecasts.

Japan also imports a great deal and with the yen getting too weak prices will have to surge or importers (any company using imported parts/materials which there are a lot of) are going to lose money.

It IS nice to see Japan regain some of the market that Korea and China has taken though.

It's cyclical. Ebb and flow. South Korea may soon feel strong effects like what Japan felt a few years back when people flocked to buy their cheaper goods over ones produced in Japan.

All econiomies that follow the manufacturing export led model eventually suffer from a strong currency due to huge balane of payments surplus. That erodes their competitiveness and leads to all this angst. Even starting in China now. With 25% plus unemplyment inn Europe, all it takes for the Euro to drop (it will, just being supported at the moment by ECB) for manufacturing to start moving back there. already happeneing in the US.

Yeah, manufacturing is so old-fashioned. Japan needs to have a service economy like America so it can also have 47% of its population on welfare.

Japan was just late in figuring out the currency debasement race. Now, Korea is realizing the game has been underway for quite some time, but they didn't get the memo. Eventually, they'll figure out that they'll have to rev up the currency printing presses and try to catch up. Last one to default is a rotten egg.