[WikiEN-l] Error in your explanation about Plaza Accord and Japanese Yen to US Dollar exchange rate

Sat Dec 20 14:51:50 UTC 2003

Your explanation that Japanese yen "depreciated" against US dollar 
after the Plaza Accord is an error.  It was "appreciated," in other
words, the value of Jppanese yen increased against US dollar.

You say on http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plaza_Accord: 
The Plaza Accord was an agrrement signed on September 22, 1985 to make the Japanese yen cheaper. 

In 1985, 1 US dollar was exchanged for 216 yen according to the table on the same page.  But the relative value of yen kept rising (appreciated, in other words) mainly because of the Plaza Accord until it reached 132 yen to a dollar in1988 according to said table.  If the intent of the Accord was to cheapen yen as you say, it obviously failed to achieve the objective completely.  Actually, the intent was to raise the value of yen against US dollar.

Yen has been going up steadly with some ups and downs here and there against US dollar since 1985, and it is now 108 yen to a US dollar, or a great appreciation, not depreciation.  Yen's value increased more than three times since 1945 when it was fixed at 360 yen to a dollar in 1945.

Now, everyone is concerned abou Chinese currency which is artificially suppressed for the benefit of Chinese export, by fixing it to US dollar.  People are saying that now is the time for the second Plaza Accord to free up the exchange ratio of Chinese currency against US dollar.

Minoru Mochizuki
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