Over many decades, no other sector has been whining more persistently about the allegedly unfair weakening of the yen by Japan’s government. The reality is this: in 1965, the yen stood at nearly 360 to the dollar. 30 years later, it had risen to 80, a gain of 350% – or putting it differently, the dollar declined by 78% against the yen in three decades. Have US car companies conquered the world as a result? Have Japan’s car makers lost market share in the US or elsewhere? The exact opposite has in fact happened (two of the US “big three” even went bankrupt and had to be bailed out). Ultimately, the magic elixir of currency debasement achieves none of the results promised by its promoters.