Yen
Yen is the currency used in Japan. In Japanese it is usually pronounced "en", but the pronunciation "yen" is standard in English. 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.
The yen was introduced by the Meiji government (Meiji 4) as a system resembling those in Europe; yen replaced the overly complex monetary system of the Edo Period. 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 yen was legally defined as 0.8667 troy ounces (26.956 g) of silver and whose definition is actually still legally enforceable today. The Act also moved Japan onto the Gold Standard.
The yen was pegged at 1 US dollar = 362 yen from April 25, 1949, to 1971. As of June 2004, there are about 109 yen to the US Dollar, and about 200 yen to the British pound. After the Plaza Accord of 1985, the yen apreciated against the dollar.
The yen was originally written as the same way as the Chinese Yuan (圓 pinyin yuan2), modern writings use a different simplified character (円) instead (cf. 元).
The sen and the rin were taken out of circulation in 1954.
The spelling, with the letter y, is based on romanization of an obsolete writing of the word and also on the standard English pronunciation. The same combination occurs in Uyeda, Iyeyasu and Inouye. Like the spellings of names of people outside Japan, the romanization of yen has become a permanent feature.
Currently, the following coins and bills are in the circulation; 1 yen coin, 5 yen coin, 10 yen coin, 50 yen coin, 100 yen coin, 500 yen coin, 1000 yen bill, 2000 yen bill, 5000 yen bill, 10000 yen bill. 500 yen coins are probably the highest valued coins to be used regularly in the world. On various occasions, special coins are minted using gold and silver with various face values. Even though they can be used, they are treated as collectibles.
Exchange rates over time
The table below shows the number of Yen per U.S. Dollar (rounded to the nearest Yen).
| Year(s) |
Month |
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun |
Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
| 1949 to 1971 | 360 |
| 1985 | | | | | | | | | | 216 |
| 1986 | | | | | | | | | | 154 |
| 1987 | | | | | | | | | | 147 |
| 1988 | | | | | | | | | | 132 |
| 1989 | | | | | | | | | | 140 |
| 1990 | | | | | | | | | | 137 |
| 1991 | | | | | | | | | | 129 |
| 1992 | | | | | | | | | | 120 |
| 1993 | | | | | | | | | | 106 |
| 1994 | | | | | | | | | | 100 |
| 1995 | | | | | | | | | | 100 |
| 1996 | | | | | | | | | | 112 |
| 2003 |
| | | | | 118 |
119 | 120 | 117 | 110 | 109 | 107 |
The table below shows the number of Yen per Pound Sterling (rounded to the nearest Yen).
| Year(s) |
Month |
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun |
Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
| 2003 |
| | | | | |
189 | 194 | 188 | 184 | 183 | 188 |
