JPY (Japanese Yen)

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JPY is the ISO currency code for the Japanese Yen. It is one of the major currencies traded on the world's forex markets as well as being a major reserve currency. The currency symbol for the Japanese yen is ¥. The yen was introduced in 1872, at which time it replaced the mon, which was the currency in the feudal era. The Meiji government introduced the yen in order to modernize Japan’s economy. The yen is subdivided into 100 sen, which may in turn be subdivided into 10 rin, so 1 yen is made up of 100 sen or 1,000 rin. The subunits of the Yen are no longer in use. At the end of World War II, Japan’s yen was seriously devalued as a result of losing the war, and was therefore pegged to the United States dollar in order to prevent further devaluation. However, the United States abandoned the gold standard in 1971, and as a result the yen began to devalue again. Since the United States left the gold standard, the yen has been allowed to free-float against the other currencies in the world.

Currently circulating coins range from 1 to 500 yen. The current set of banknotes (the E series) came out in 2004 and includes 1000, 5000, and 10,000 yen notes.
 
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