For daily life, having a system of bills which max out at around 100 bucks US is not a problem. But for those special times when you want to buy something high-end like a computer or melons, your wallet suddenly swells to the size of a baseball. In country that largely shuns checks or debit cards, cash is still king – a thick, hard to fit in your back pocket king.
Rumors are swirling about financial reforms in the works by Shinzo Abe’s recently elected Liberal Democratic Party involving, among other things, the issuing of 50,000 yen bills. Yes, it looks like – for once – a politician is looking out for the needs of people with too much money.
Shortly after his election win last September, Prime Minister Abe had been promoting several ideas to breathe life back into Japans flailing economy. These include the old lowering of the yen agendas that pundits have dubbed “Abenomics.”
As a general rule of politics, when people combine your name with your policies it means they’re not thrilled with them. Nevertheless, Abe and his cabinet are unfazed by criticisms with deeper plans in the works under the guidance of former Yale University professor Kōichi Hamada.
These plans involve bringing the inflation rate to a 2% target by 2014 leading to what the government refers to as an “indefinite monetary easing” scheme.
This indefinite monetary easing scheme is believed to involve a restructuring of the relationship between the Bank of Japan and the government. Previously the government held tight control over the central bank’s actions with it sometimes being referred to as “nothing more than a printing machine”.
However, now it’s possible that steps are being taken to create a more cooperative system of monetary policy hoping to improve over the formerly used “quantitative easing” which has yielded unimpressive economic results.
With nothing set in stone, some still feel this move is likely considering Abe’s Minister of Financial Services (and former PM) Taro Aso, is roughly of the same mind.
As a result of all this power shifting and economics, one potential plan of consumer stimulus that has this consumer so stimulated he needs a shower is the 50,000 yen banknote.
No more will we have to carry around briefcases of cash like a villain from a Lethal Weapon movie to make a major purchase. Finally large sums of cash may be able to fit discretely in our wallets and purses.
Still, the 50,000 yen question remains: Who would be on the bill?
Abe’s sometimes hardline leanings may suggest he’s a little full of himself and would try to put himself on the bill.
However, bills in Japan tend to feature noted historical people outside of the political sphere as well. Who’s the symbol of Japan these days?
Yes. This is it.
Source: ZakZak via My Game News Flash (Japanese)