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Japan’s 500-yen coin has two hidden messages, and here’re where to find them 【Photos】

The country’s largest coin has something to say to you.

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Here’s a beautifully compelling reason to hang onto your change when you go shopping in Japan.

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Here’s why Japan won’t do anything about the crazy yen surge

The Japanese yen is on fire.

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Computer overheating? Japanese Twitter suggests using 10-yen coins to cool it off

We’ve all been there: you’ve been marathoning a TV series on your laptop, or maybe playing a game for way too long, and now your fans are going haywire and the whole computer is hot to the touch. What are you supposed to do? Put your viewing on hold and wait for your computer to cool? No way!

Thankfully one Japanese Twitter user has another solution: cover your computer in 10-yen coins. Read on to find out why this idea just might be crazy enough to work.

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Two Japanese arrested, suspected of importing forged money, sharing with friends

I’m sure I’m not the first to admit that life would be so much easier if money grew on trees, or even if earning more money were as simple as just printing it off your computer. But alas, the world does work that way, and anyone caught trying to spend counterfeit money is bound to end up in hot water, as these two Japanese suspects are sure to tell you.

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Stinky train tracks, expensive imports and no weekends: netizens remember Showa-era Japan

The Showa period (1926-1989) was a time of immense change for Japan when the country went from being an imperial power to a poverty-stricken post-war nation and then becoming an economic powerhouse that dominated automotive and electronic industries around the world. Twenty-seven years since that era ended and the current Heisei era began, fond memories of “Showa Japan” still flood many Japanese minds.

But a recent online poll asked netizens to take off their rose-tinted glasses and consider the aspects of daily Showa-period life that, while seeming completely normal back then, would be unthinkable now. Join us after the jump for a look at the slightly grim feedback.

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7-year-old turns cash into “art”, parents decidedly unamused

How did you first learn about the value of money as a child? Did you save up your allowance in a piggy bank until there was enough to buy a cool new toy? Or how about taking care of the neighbor’s cat for a small reward?

Or maybe you were never actually taught how to spend your cash wisely, and to this day keep a tall stack of credit card bills around in case you need to blow your nose.

Speaking of money going down the drain, that’s pretty much what one Japanese 7-year-old was found guilty of the other day. He was given a 1,000-yen note, worth roughly US$9.80, and told to “use it however you want.” While most other kids would have jumped for joy and rushed to the nearest toy store, this kid had a much more…creative idea.

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Two Japanese high school kids arrested in “really bad” attempt at cash fraud

On 4 November Osaka Prefectural Police announced the arrest of two teenagers aged 15 and 16 for fraud. The two boys are accused of trying to pass off a fake one million yen (US$10,000) bank note at a small cigarette stand in Suita City.

Although, passing off counterfeit money is usually considered “uttering” and may be punishable by jail time, the pair were given a reduced charge of fraud because, according to police, “the fake money used was really bad.”

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Got a spare $286,000 lying around? Get your 24k gold Mt. Fuji replica while supplies last!

With Mt. Fuji having recently been declared a UNESCO World Heritage site on June 22, souvenir makers have rushed to cash in on the mountain’s new found fame offering everything from rice bowls to beer glasses crafted in the shape of the iconic volcano.
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Japanese Government Hints at Issuing 50,000 Yen Bills, We Wonder What They’ll Look Like

A major flaw of Japanese currency is the 10,000 yen bill ceiling of banknotes.

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.

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Japanese Man Arrested for Using Novelty Cash, Clerk Tipped off by Laughing Yukichi

Japanese paper currency is printed with the faces of various prominent figures.  However, rather than past or present leaders, like many countries do, the yen banknotes are decorated with writers and a scientist.

For example, the 10,000 yen (US$124) bill has the likeness of Fukuzawa Yukichi, a highly influential writer during Japan’s transition from the feudal system to modern government.  He is also known to have never smiled in a photograph, which is why when one man attempted to spend a 1,000,000 yen (US$12,400) bill with a picture of a grinning Yukichi, the clerk’s suspicion was aroused.

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