|
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 apreciated 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 |
|
