Yen

Yen is the currency used in Japan, pronounced 'en'. (ISO 4217): JPY, 392; Latinised: ¥; locally as (円).

It was introduced by the Meiji government (Meiji 4) as a system resembling those of Europe to replace the overly complex system of the Edo Period. The New Currency Act of 1871 stipulated the adoption of the decimal accounting system of yen (1, 圓), sen (1/100, 錢), and rin (1/1000, 厘) with the coins being round and cast as in the West. The Act also moved Japan onto the Gold Standard. The yen was pegged at 1 US dollar = 360 yen from April 25, 1949, to 1971. As of July 2003 there were about 119 yen to the U.S. Dollar. After the Plaza Accord of 1985, the yen depreciated against the dollar.

The yen was originally written as the same way as the Chinese Yuan (圓 pinyin yuan2), modern writings use a different character (円) instead.

The sen and the rin were taken out of circulation in 1954.

Exchange rates over time

The table below shows the number of Yen per U.S. Dollar (rounded to the nearest Yen).

Year(s)	Month
	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
1949 to 1971	360
1985										216
1986										154
1987										147
1988										132
1989										140
1990										137
1991										129
1992										120
1993										106
1994										100
1995										100
1996										112
2003						118	119	120	117	110	109	107

The table below shows the number of Yen per Pound Sterling (rounded to the nearest Yen).

Year(s)	Month
	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
2003							189	194	188	184	183	188

A 1,000 yen note, featuring the portrait of Natsume Soseki.

External link

• The history of Japanese currency