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PaperclipPerfector  10hr ago (text post)   324 thread views

Friday Fun Thread for November 15, 2024

Be advised: this thread is not for serious in-depth discussion of weighty topics (we have a link for that), this thread is not for anything Culture War related. This thread is for Fun. You got jokes? Share 'em. You got silly questions? Ask 'em.

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FWIW, the last 1-2 years has been a nightmare of overtourism. I've been living and traveling here for over a decade and it's never been this bad in Tokyo.

My siblings have been insisting on a Japan trip and I've been reluctant because of this

Don't worry, the yen is probably permanently ruined so it'll stay cheap.

I think the risk/concern here is that it eventually enters an inflationary spiral like Argentina/Turkey. It doesn't seem likely, but if people on the inside don't trust the currency...

I think the BOJ has been far more concerned with deflation than inflation over the last several decades. And it's not that people don't trust the currency, it's that the BOJ prefers a gradual, managed decline that preserves pensions and lifelong employment to any sort of economic dynamism, so a weak yen is fine to them as long as the largest voting blocs ("old people" and "very old people") can still push paper around for a mediocre wage/receive their pensions and can afford to buy rice, tofu, vegetables, and cigarettes.

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