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The yen is the currency of Japan. It is also widely
used as a reserve currency after the United States
dollar and euro. The ISO 4217 codes for the yen are
JPY and 392. The Latinised symbol is ¥, while in
Japanese it is written with the kanji 円.
History
The yen was introduced by the Meiji government in
1870 as a system resembling those in Europe. The
yen replaced the complex monetary system of the
Edo period, based on the mon. The New Currency
Act of 1871 stipulated the adoption of the decimal
accounting system of yen (1, 圓), sen (1⁄100, 錢),
and rin (1⁄1000, 厘), with the coins being round and
cast as in the West. (The sen and the rin were
eventually taken out of circulation in 1954.) While not
a usage specific to currency, large quantities of yen
are often counted in multiples of 10,000 (man, 万) in
the same way as values in the United States are
often quoted or rounded off to hundreds or
thousands. The yen was legally defined as 0.8667
troy ounces (26.956 g) of silver, which is about
US$6.50 in today's money. The Act also moved
Japan onto the gold standard.
The yen lost most of its value during and after World
War II; after a period of instability, the yen was
pegged at 1 US dollar = ¥360 from April 25, 1949, to
until 1971 when the Bretton Woods system collapsed
and the value of the Yen began to float. As of
December 2005, there are about ¥115 to the US
dollar, about ¥139 to the Euro, and about ¥205 to
the pound sterling. After the Plaza Accord of 1985,
the yen appreciated against the dollar.
used as a reserve currency after the United States
dollar and euro. The ISO 4217 codes for the yen are
JPY and 392. The Latinised symbol is ¥, while in
Japanese it is written with the kanji 円.
History
The yen was introduced by the Meiji government in
1870 as a system resembling those in Europe. The
yen replaced the complex monetary system of the
Edo period, based on the mon. The New Currency
Act of 1871 stipulated the adoption of the decimal
accounting system of yen (1, 圓), sen (1⁄100, 錢),
and rin (1⁄1000, 厘), with the coins being round and
cast as in the West. (The sen and the rin were
eventually taken out of circulation in 1954.) While not
a usage specific to currency, large quantities of yen
are often counted in multiples of 10,000 (man, 万) in
the same way as values in the United States are
often quoted or rounded off to hundreds or
thousands. The yen was legally defined as 0.8667
troy ounces (26.956 g) of silver, which is about
US$6.50 in today's money. The Act also moved
Japan onto the gold standard.
The yen lost most of its value during and after World
War II; after a period of instability, the yen was
pegged at 1 US dollar = ¥360 from April 25, 1949, to
until 1971 when the Bretton Woods system collapsed
and the value of the Yen began to float. As of
December 2005, there are about ¥115 to the US
dollar, about ¥139 to the Euro, and about ¥205 to
the pound sterling. After the Plaza Accord of 1985,
the yen appreciated against the dollar.
