A monitor shows U.S. dollar/Japanese yen exchange rate in Tokyo Monday, April 29, 2024. The value of Japan’s currency has tumbled so much that for a moment on Monday it took 160 yen to equal $1. A few years ago, it took closer to 100 yen to make a U.S. dollar. The yen has been so weak that it’s back to where it was in 1990, shortly after Japan’s famous “bubble economy” burst.
The yen has long been under pressure as the Bank of Japan kept interest rates remarkably low to encourage more inflation in its economy. Only last month did it end its policy to keep its benchmark interest rate below zero.Japan’s moon lander wasn’t built to survive a weekslong lunar night. It’s still going after 3The Bank of Japan’s latest decision on rates came on Friday, when it held interest rates steady. That helped spur this latest leg of weakness for the yen.