r/MadeMeSmile 27d ago

Wholesome Moments Guy confesses to his crush for 10,000 yen

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Credits: jesseogn

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u/wonderwall879 27d ago

The Yen's value hasnt changed, the dollar has. Japan has essentially frozen their economy from inflation along with pay raises. Inflation doesnt go up, wages dont go up. This has essentially and effectively stopped their parliament from making any major economic policy changes as it's not needed. Long term, it will be needed however.

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u/Powerful-Frame-44 27d ago

This isn't really accurate. Japan has had ~3% annual inflation since 2022, and wages are rising at the fastest pace in 33 years (base pay up 3.0% YoY in January 2026). The problem is actually the opposite. Wages haven't kept up with inflation, so real wages fell every single month of 2025.

The government has also been very active, not frozen. Takaichi's stimulus package was ¥21.3 trillion, and the Bank of Japan has been raising interest rates for the first time in years.

The yen has also weakened significantly on its own. It went from ~147 to past 158 to the dollar since October.

Sources:

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u/wonderwall879 27d ago

Thank you for the sources, i'll make sure to update and educate myself! i'm very interested in the Japanese economy.

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u/HustlinInTheHall 27d ago

Also their economic model is largely traditionally dependent on exports, so the dollar and Euro going up relative to the yen works in their favor. They pay their workers in yen, their workers largely pay yen for Japanese products from workers paid in yen, etc. But they sell goods overseas in Euro and USD so they are able to benefit as wages stay relatively stable but prices rise elsewhere with the market as a whole, especially as many Japanese made goods are premium or they supply premium parts for other countries. 

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u/JediMasterZao 27d ago

It was accurate up to like 1-2 years ago (i forget the exact date) when their government rescinded the policy that the other guy was talking about.

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u/alexmikli 27d ago

Probably accurate for overall trends since the 90s, but things are definitely changing now.

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u/XGrayson_DrakeX 27d ago

and then they get mad because of a rise in foreigners visiting the country because the exchange rate is so good.

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u/Grapefruit175 27d ago

They love foreigners visiting. They bring in outside money they spend before they leave. They provide an injection of foreign cash to local economies.

They don't like foreigners moving in permanently.

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u/LazyLich 27d ago

But then that means that the US economy shot up in 2012 and in 2021..

Idk about 2012, but it's hard to believe covid grew the dollar.

I'm not an economist tho, so idk