Discussion about this post

User's avatar
Mark Kennedy's avatar

Thanks for providing your perspective--especially on the "free side" of a paywall. As a long-term resident of Japan now with permanent residency status and the intention to remain based in Japan forever, I read your prognosis with great interest. I tend to share your viewpoint, but I am still weary of not hedging my bets for a return to the days of a much stronger yen vs. the USD. Although I spent a few "tours of duty" living and working back in my native Chicago, I have lived in Japan during periods when the fx was right around current levels as well as when it was as high as 80 yen/USD. Especially considering the effect of demographics and the factors you cited, it does seem unlikely that Japan, Inc. will ever again be able to export its way out of a weak yen. It's just difficult to fathom the likelihood that Japan's economy (and the relative value of the yen) will simply deteriorate slowly during the rest of my days here. Glad to be invested heavily in the US stock market!

Expand full comment
MarcoPolo's avatar

It was a brutally honest article but I have seen more brutal articles coming from Japanese experts. I understand that you hold your firepower because you want to save faces for the Japanese.

Expand full comment
4 more comments...

No posts