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Japan is haunted by a return to emerging economy status

The battering sustained by the yen since January is causing alarm in some quarters.

Pedestrians walk at Shibuya Crossing, one of the busiest intersections in the world, as local government asking public to refrain from celebrating Halloween there, in the Shibuya district of Tokyo on October 27, 2023. A ban on alcohol came into force around Tokyo's tourist hotspot Shibuya on October 27 in an attempt to discourage raucous Halloween gatherings a year after a deadly tragedy in South Korea. (Photo by Philip FONG / AFP)

The yen tumbled to a 34-year low before the government appeared to barge in with over US$35 billion worth of currency support.

PHOTO: AFP

Leo Lewis

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April was a testy month for Japan.

The yen tumbled to a 34-year low before the government appeared to barge in with

more than US$35 billion (S$47.6 billion) worth of currency support

. A prominent think-tank warned that well over a third of the country’s municipalities may vanish. A key industrial policy committee warned of chronic threats to national prosperity.

Japan is haunted by a return to emerging economy status

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