Japan’s $1.45 Trillion Whale May Crush Yen Bulls
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July 31 (Bloomberg) -- As havens go, Japan sure is an oddcase. You would think that having the developed world’s largestpublic debt, an aging and shrinking population, deflation, fewnatural resources and the ever-present risk of a giantearthquake might give investors pause.
Since the global crash of 2008, though, they can’t getenough of the place. As a recession takes hold in Europe and theU.S. limps along, demand for yen assets has exploded. This isgiving Finance Minister Jun Azumi and Bank of Japan GovernorMasaaki Shirakawa fits as they confront pressure to halt theyen’s 33 percent surge since the collapse of Lehman BrothersHoldings Inc.